MRS.   CLIFF'S   YACHT 


BURKE     DKTERMINKU     TO     GET     NEAR    ENOUGH     TO    HAIL 
THE    DUSKKRY    BEACON 


MRS.    CLIFF'S    YACHT 


BY 

FRANK   R.   STOCKTON 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  A.  FORESTIER 


NEW   YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
1896 


COPYRIGHT.   1896.  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


XortoootJ  $rrsa 

1.  8.  Cuihing  *  Co.  -  Berwick  *  Smith 
Norwood  Maw.  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  ALONE  WITH  HER  WEALTH       ....  1 

II.  WILLY  CROUP  DOESN'T  KNOW  ....  7 

III.  Miss  NANCY  SHOTT 16 

IV.  A  LAUNCH  INTO  A  XEW  LIFE          ...  25 
V.  A  FUR-TRIMMED  OVERCOAT  AND  A  SILK  HAT  36 

VI.  A  TEMPERANCE  LARK      .        .        .        .        .45 

VII.  MR.  BURKE  ACCEPTS  A  RESPONSIBILITY          .  59 

VIII.  MR.   BURKE  BEGINS  TO  MAKE  THINGS  MOVE 

IN  PLAINTON 68 

IX.     A  MEETING  OF  HEIRS 80 

X.  THE  INTELLECT  OF  Miss  INCHMAN          .        .  92 

XI.  THE  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  XEW  DINING-ROOM       .  99 

XII.  THE  THORPEDYKE  SISTERS       ....  109 

XIII.  MONEY  HUNGER 114 

XIV.  WILLY   CROUP  AS  A   PHILANTHROPIC   DIPLO 

MATIST  121 

XV.  Miss  XANCY  MAKES  A  CALL    ....  128 

XVI.  MR.  BURKE  MAKES  A  CALL     ....  135 

XVII.     MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 147 

XVIII.  THE  DAWN  OF  THE  GROVE  OF  THS  INCAS     .  156 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAOI 

XIX.  THE  "SUMMER  SHELTER"      .        .        .        .162 

XX.  THE  SYNOD 169 

XXI.  A  TELEGRAM  FROM  CAPTAIN  HORN      .        .  173 

XXII.  THE  "SUMMER  SHELTER"  GOES  TO  SEA      .  182 

XXIII.  WILLY  CROUP  COMES  TO  THE  FRONT    .        .  192 

XXIV.  CHANGES  ON  THE  "SUMMER  SHELTKK"        .  203 
XXV.  A  NOTE  FOR  CAPTAIN  BTRKE       .        .        .  L'l^ 

XXVI.  •  Wi  i  i    -TICK  TO  SHIRLEY!"        ...  228 

XXVII.  ON  BOARD  THE  "  Di  NKKKY  BEACON".        .  235 

XXVIII.  THE  PEOPLE  ON  THE  "MONTEREY"      .        .  247 

XXIX.  THE  "VirroRio"  FROM  GENOA     ...  254 

XXX.  THE  BATTLE  OK  THE  MERCHANT  SHIPS        .  264 

XXXI.  "SHE  BACKED!" 27: J 

XXXII.  A  HEAD  ON  THK  WATER        ....  27!> 

XXXIII.  11°  307  19"  N.  LAT.  by  56°  10'  4!>"  W.  LONG.  .  286 

XXXIV.  PLAINTON,  MAINE 298 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 
BCRKE     DETERMINED     TO     GET     NEAR     ENOUGH     TO     HAIL    THE 

"  DUNKERY  BEACON" Frontispiece 

THE  GENTLEMAN  RAISED  HIS  HAT  AND  ASKED  IF  MRS.  CLIFF 

LIVED  THERE 42 

MRS.    CLIFF'S     INVITATION     WAS     DISCUSSED    WITH    LIVELY 

APPRECIATION 170 

THERE,   FASTENED   AGAINST  THE    FORE-MAST,  WAS   A   LARGE 

PIECE  OF  PAPER 194 

WHEN  SHIRLEY  WENT  ON  DECK  HE  WAS  MUCH  PLEASED  TO 

SEE  THE  "  SUMMER  SHELTER  " 238 

BANKER  COULD  NOT  HOLD  BACK 270 

HE    SEIZED    IT    AND    RAISED    IT    TO    HIS    SHOULDER       .  .  .      290 

WILLY  SAT  AND  LOOKED  AT  HIM  312 


MRS.  CLIFF'S   YACHT 


CHAPTER  I 

ALONE    WITH    HER    WEALTH 

ON  a  beautiful  September  afternoon  in  a  handsome 
room  of  one  of  the  grand,  up-town  hotels  in  New  York 
sat  Mrs.  Cliff,  widow  and  millionnaire. 

Widow  of  a  village  merchant,  mistress  of  an  unpre 
tending  house  in  the  little  town  of  Plainton,  Maine, 
and,  by  strange  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  the  possessor  of 
great  wealth,  she  was  on  her  way  from  Paris  to  the 
scene  of  that  quiet  domestic  life  to  which  for  nearly 
thirty  years  she  had  been  accustomed. 

She  was  alone  in  the  hotel;  her  friends,  Captain 
Horn  and  his  wife  Edna,  who  had  crossed  the  ocean 
with  her,  had  stayed  but  a  few  days  in  New  York  and 
had  left  early  that  afternoon  for  Niagara,  and  she  was 
here  by  herself  in  the  hotel,  waiting  until  the  hour 
should  arrive  when  she  would  start  on  a  night  train  for 
her  home. 

Her  position  was  a  peculiar  one,  altogether  new  to 
her.  She  was  absolutely  independent,  —  not  only  could 
she  do  what  she  pleased,  but  there  was  no  one  to  tell 

B  1 


2  MRS.    CLIFFS    YACHT 

her  what  it  would  be  well  for  her  to  do,  wise  for  her 
to  do,  or  unwise.  Everything  she  could  possibly  want 
was  within  her  reach,  and  there  was  no  reason  why  she 
should  not  have  everything  she  wanted. 

For  many  months  she  had  been  possessed  of  enormous 
wealth,  but  never  until  this  moment  had  she  felt  herself 
the  absolute,  untrammelled  possessor  of  it.  Until  now 
Captain  Horn,  to  whom  she  owed  her  gold,  and  the 
power  it  gave  her,  had  been  with  her  or  had  exercised 
an  influence  over  her.  Until  the  time  had  couie  wh»-u 
he  could  avow  the  possession  of  his  vast  treasures,  it 
had  been  impossible  for  her  to  make  known  her  share 
in  them,  and  even  after  everything  had  been  settled,  and 
they  had  all  come  home  together  in  the  finest  state-rooms 
of  a  great  ocean  liner,  she  had  still  felt  dependent  upon 
the  counsels  and  judgment  of  her  friends. 

But  now  she  was  left  absolutely  free  and  indepen 
dent,  untrammelled,  uucounselled,  alone  with  her  wealth. 

She  rose  and  looked  out  of  the  window,  and,  as  she 
gazed  upon  the  crowd  which  swept  up  and  down  the 
beautiful  avenue,  she  could  not  but  smile  as  she  thought 
that  she,  a  plain  Xew  England  countrywoman,  with  her 
gray  hair  brushed  back  from  her  brows,  with  hands  a 
little  hardened  and  roughened  with  many  a  year  of 
household  duties,  which  had  been  to  her  as  much  a 
pleasure  as  a  labor,  was  in  all  probability  richer  than 
most  of  the  people  who  sat  in  the  fine  carriages  or 
strolled  in  their  fashionable  clothes  along  the  sidewalk. 

"  If  I  wanted  to  do  it,"  she  thought,  "  I  could  have 
one  of  those  carriages  with  prancing  horses  and  a  driver 


ALONE    WITH    HER    WEALTH  3 

in  knee  breeches,  or  I  could  buy  that  house  opposite, 
with  its  great  front  steps,  its  balconies,  and  everything 
in  it,  but  there  is  nobody  on  this  earth  who  could  tempt 
me  to  live  there." 

"Now,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff  to  herself,  as  she  turned  from 
the  window  and  selected  a  fresh  easy  chair,  and  sank 
down  into  its  luxurious  depths,  "there  is  nothing  in 
this  world  so  delightful  as  to  go  back  rich  to  Plainton. 
To  be  rich  in  Paris  or  New  York  is  nothing  to  me ;  it 
would  simply  mean  that  I  should  be  a  common  person 
there  as  I  used  to  be  at  home,  and,  for  the  matter  of 
that,  a  little  more  common." 

As  the  good  lady's  thoughts  wandered  northward, 
and  spread  themselves  from  the  railroad  station  at 
Plainton  all  over  the  little  town,  she  was  filled  with 
a  great  content  and  happiness  to  go  to  her  old  home 
with  her  new  money.  This  was  a  joy  beyond  anything 
she  had  dreamed  of  as  possible  in  this  world. 

But  it  was  the  conjunction  of  the  two  which  pro 
duced  this  delightful  effect  upon  her  mind.  The  money 
anywhere  else,  or  Plainton  without  it,  would  not  have 
made  Mrs.  Cliff  the  happy  woman  that  she  was. 

It  pleased  her  to  let  her  mind  wander  over  the  inci 
dents  of  her  recent  visit  to  her  old  home,  the  most 
unhappy  visit  she  had  ever  made  in  all  her  life,  but 
everything  that  was  unpleasant  then  would  help  to  make 
everything  more  delightful  in  the  present  home-coming. 

She  thought  of  the  mental  chains  and  fetters  she  had 
worn  when  she  went  to  Plainton  with  plenty  of  money 
in  her  purse  and  a  beautiful  pair  of  California  blankets 


4  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

in  her  handsome  trunk;  when  she  had  been  afraid  to 
speak  of  the  one  or  to  show  the  other ;  when  she  had  sat 
quietly  and  received  charity  from  people  whose  houses 
and  land,  furniture,  horses,  and  cows,  she  could  have 
bought  and  given  away  without  feeling  their  loss ;  when 
she  had  been  publicly  berated  by  Nancy  Shott  for  spend 
ing  money  on  luxuries  which  should  have  been  used  to 
pay  her  debts;  when  she  had  been  afraid  to  put  her 
money  in  the  bank  for  fear  it  would  act  as  a  dynamite 
bomb  and  blow  up  the  fortunes  of  her  friends,  and  when 
she  could  find  no  refuge  from  the  miseries  brought  upon 
her  by  the  necessity  of  concealing  her  wealth  except  ,to 
go  to  bed  and  cover  up  her  head  so  that  she  should  not 
hear  the  knock  of  some  inquiring  neighbor  upon  her 
front  door. 

Then  when  she  had  made  this  background  as  dark 
and  gloomy  as  it  was  possible  to  make  it,  she  placed 
before  it  the  glittering  picture  of  her  new  existence  in 
Plainton. 

But  this  new  life,  bright  as  it  now  appeared  to  her, 
was  not  to  be  begun  without  careful  thought  and  earnest 
consideration.  Ever  since  her  portion  of  the  golden 
treasure  had  been  definitely  assigned  to  her,  the  mind 
of  Mrs.  Cliff  had  been  much  occupied  with  plans  for 
her  future  in  her  old  home. 

It  was  not  to  be  altogether  a  new  life.  All  the 
friends  she  had  in  the  world,  excepting  Captain  and 
Mrs.  Horn,  lived  in  Plaiuton.  She  did  not  wish  to 
lose  these  friends,  —  she  did  not  wish  to  be  obliged  to 
make  new  ones.  With  simple-minded  and  honest  Willy 


ALONE   WITH   HER   WEALTH  5 

Croup,  who  had  long  lived  with  her  and  for  her;  with 
Mrs.  Perley,  the  minister's  wife ;  with  all  her  old  neigh 
bors  and  friends,  she  wished  to  live  as  she  had  always 
lived,  but,  of  course,  with  a  difference.  How  to  man 
age,  arrange,  and  regulate  that  difference  was  the  great 
problem  in  her  mind. 

One  thing  she  had  determined  upon:  her  money 
should  not  come  between  her  and  those  who  loved  her 
and  who  were  loved  by  her.  No  matter  what  she  might 
do  or  what  she  might  not  do,  she  would  not  look  down 
upon  people  simply  because  she  was  rich,  and  oh,  the 
blessed  thought  which  followed  that!  There  would  be 
nobody  who  could  look  down  upon  her  because  she  was 
not  rich! 

She  did  not  intend  to  be  a  fine  new  woman;  she  did 
not  intend  to  build  a  fine  new  house.  She  was  going 
to  be  the  same  Mrs.  Cliff  that  she  used  to  be,  — she  was 
going  to  live  in  the  same  house.  To  be  sure,  she  would 
add  to  it.  She  would  have  a  new  dining-room  and  a 
guest's  chamber  over  it,  and  she  would  do  a  great  many 
other  things  which  were  needed,  but  she  would  live  in 
her  old  home  where  she  and  her  husband  had  been  so 
happy,  and  where  she  hoped  he  would  look  down  from 
heaven  and  see  her  happy  until  the  end  of  her  days. 

As  she  thought  of  the  things  she  intended  to  do,  and 
of  the  manner  in  which  she  intended  to  do  them,  Mrs. 
Cliff  rose  and  walked  the  floor.  She  felt  as  if  she  were 
a  bird,  a  common-sized  bird,  perhaps,  but  with  enor 
mous  wings  which  seemed  to  grow  and  grow  the  more 
she  thought  of  them  until  they  were  able  to  carry  her 


6  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

so  far  and  so  high  that  her  mind  lost  its  power  of 
directing  them. 

She  determined  to  cease  to  think  of  the  future,  of 
what  was  going  to  be,  and  to  let  her  mind  rest  and 
quiet  itself  with  what  really  existed.  Here  she  was 
in  a  great  city  full  of  wonders  and  delights,  of  com 
forts,  conveniences,  luxuries,  necessities,  and  all  within 
her  power.  Almost  anything  she  could  think  of  she 
might  have;  almost  anything  she  wanted  to  do  she 
might  do.  A  feeling  of  potentiality  seemed  to  swell 
and  throb  within  her  veins.  She  was  possessed  of  an 
overpowering  desire  to  do  something  now,  this  moment, 
to  try  the  power  of  her  wealth. 

Near  her  on  the  richly  papered  wall  was  a  little 
button.  She  coxild  touch  this  and  order  —  what  should 
she  order?  A  carriage  and  prancing  pair  to  take  her  to 
drive?  She  did  not  wish  to  drive.  A  cab  to  take  her 
to  the  shops,  or  an  order  to  merchants  to  send  her 
samples  of  their  wares  that  here,  in  her  own  room, 
like  a  queen  or  a  princess,  she  might  choose  what  she 
wanted  and  think  nothing  of  the  cost?  But  no,  she 
did  not  wish  to  buy  anything.  She  had  purchased  in 
Paris  everything  that  she  cared  to  carry  to  Plainton. 

She  went  and  stood  by  the  electric  button.  She 
must  touch  it,  and  must  have  something!  Her  gold 
must  give  her  an  instant  proof  that  it  could  minister 
to  her  desires,  but  what  should  she  ask  for?  Her  mind 
travelled  over  the  whole  field  of  the  desirable,  and  yet 
not  one,  salient  object  presented  itself.  There  was 
absolutely  nothing  that  she  could  think  of  that  she 


wished  to  ask  for  at  that  moment.  She '  was  like  a 
poor  girl  in  a  fairy  tale  to  whom  the  good  fairy  comes 
and  asks  her  to  make  one  wish  and  it  shall  be  granted, 
and  who  stands  hesitating  and  trembling,  not  being  able 
to  decide  what  is  the  one  great  thing  for  which  she 
should  ask. 

So  stood  Mrs.  Cliff.  There  was  a  fairy,  a  powerful 
fairy,  in  her  service  who  could  give  her  anything  she 
desired,  and  with  all  her  heart  she  wanted  to  want 
something  that  minute.  What  should  she  want? 

In  her  agitation  she  touched  the  bell.  Half  fright 
ened  at  what  she  had  done,  she  stepped  back  and  sat 
down.  In  a  few  minutes  there  was  a  knock,  the  door 
opened,  a  servant  entered.  "Bring  me  a  cup  of  tea," 
said  Mrs.  Cliff. 


CHAPTER   II 
WILLY  CROUP  DOESN'T  KNOW 

THE  next  afternoon  as  the  train  approached  Plainton, 
Mrs.  Cliff  found  herself  a  great  deal  agitated  as  she 
thought  of  the  platform  at  the  station.  Who  would 
be  there,  —  how  should  she  be  met?  With  all  her  heart 
she  hoped  that  there  would  not  be  anything  like  a 
formal  reception,  and  yet  this  was  not  improbable. 
Everybody  knew  she  was  coming;  everybody  knew 
by  what  train  she  would  arrive.  She  had  written  to 
Willy  Croup,  and  she  was  very  sure  that  everybody 


8  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT  ^ 

knew  everything  that  she  had  written.  More  than 
this,  everybody  knew  th.it  she  was  coming  home  rich. 
How  rich  they  were  not  aware,  because  she  had  not 
gone  into  particulars  on  this  subject,  but  they  knew 
that  the  wealthy  Mrs.  Cliff  would  arrive  at  5.-0  that 
afternoon,  and  what  were  they  going  to  do  about  it? 

When  she  had  gone  home  before,  all  her  friends  and 
neighbors,  and  even  distant  acquaintances,  —  if  such 
people  were  possible  in  such  a  little  town, — had  come 
to  her  house  to  bid  her  welcome,  and  many  of  them 
had  met  her  at  the  station.  But  then  they  had  come 
to  meet  a  poor,  shipwrecked  widow,  pitied  by  most 
of  them  and  loved  by  many.  Even  those  who  neither 
pitied  nor  loved  her  had  a  curiosity  to  see  her,  for 
she  had  been  shipwrecked,  and  it  was  not  known  in 
Plainton  how  people  looked  after  they  had  been  wrecked. 

But  now  the  case  was  so  different  that  Mrs.  Cliff 
did  not  expect  the  same  sort  of  greeting,  and  she  greatly 
feared  formality.  If  Mr.  Perley  should  appear  on  the 
platform,  surrounded  by  some  of  the  leading  members 
of  his  congregation,  and  should  publicly  take  her  by 
the  hand  and  bid  her  <;  Welcome  home ! "  and  if  those 
who  felt  themselves  entitled  to  do  so,  should  come 
forward  and  shake  hands  with  her,  while  others,  who 
might  feel  that  they  belonged  to  a  different  station  in 
life,  should  keep  in  the  background  and  wait  until  she 
came  to  speak  to  them,  she  would  be  deeply  hurt. 

After  all,  Plainton  and  the  people  in  it  were  dearer 
to  her  than  anything  else  in  the  world,  and  it  would 
be  a  great  shock  if  she  should  meet  formality  where 


WILLY  CROUP  DOESN'T  KNOW  9 

she  looked  for  cordial  love.  She  wanted  to  see  Mr. 
Perley, — he  was  the  first  person  she  had  seen  when  she 
came  home  before, —  but  now  she  hoped  that  he  would 
not  be  there.  She  was  very  much  afraid  that  he  would 
make  a  stiff  speech  to  her;  and  if  he  did  that,  she 
would  know  that  there  had  been  a  great  change,  and  that 
the  friends  she  would  meet  were  not  the  same  friends 
she  had  left.  She  was  almost  afraid  to  look  out  of  the 
window  as  the  train  slowed  up  at  the  station. 

The  minds  of  the  people  of  Plainton  had  been  greatly 
exercised  about  this  home-coming  of  Mrs.  Cliff.  That 
afternoon  it  was  probable  that  no  other  subject  of 
importance  was  thought  about  or  talked  about  in  the 
town,  and  for  some  days  before  the  whole  matter  had 
been  so  thoroughly  considered  and  discussed  that  the 
good  citizens,  without  really  coining  to  any  fixed  and 
general  decision  upon  the  subject,  had  individually 
made  up  their  minds  that,  no  matter  what  might  hap 
pen  afterward,  they  would  make  no  mistake  upon  this 
very  important  occasion  which  might  subsequently  have 
an  influence  upon  their  intercourse  with  their  old,  re 
spected  neighbor,  now  millionnaire.  Each  one  for  him 
self,  or  herself,  decided  —  some  of  them  singly  and 
some  of  them  in  groups  —  that  as  they  did  not  know 
what  sort  of  a  woman  Mrs.  Cliff  had  become  since 
the  change  in  her  circumstances,  they  would  not  place 
themselves  in  false  positions.  Other  people  might  go 
and  meet  her  at  the  station,  but  they  would  stay  at 
home  and  see  what  happened.  Even  Mr.  Perley  thought 
it  wise,  under  the  circumstances,  to  do  this. 


10  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

Therefore  it  was,  that  when  Mrs.  Cliff  stepped  <l«>\vii 
upon  the  platform,  she  saw  no  one  there  but  Willy 
Croup.  If  Mrs.  Cliff  was  a  little  shocked  and  a  good 
deal  surprised  to  find  no  one  to  meet  her  but  that 
simple-minded  dependant  and  relative,  her  emotions 
were  excited  in  a  greater  degree  by  the  manner  in 
which  she  was  greeted  by  this  old  friend  and  com 
panion. 

Instead  of  rushing  toward  her  with  open  arms,  —  for 
Willy  was  an  impulsive  person  and  given  to  such  emo 
tional  demonstrations, —  Miss  Croup  came  forward,  ex 
tending  a  loosely  filled  black  cotton  glove.  Her  large, 
light-blue  eyes  showed  a  wondering  interest,  and  Mr- 
Cliff  felt  that  every  portion  of  her  visible  attire  was 
being  carefully  scanned. 

For  a  moment  Mrs.  Cliff  hesitated,  and  then  she  took 
the  hand  of  Willy  Croup  and  shook  it,  but  she  did  not 
speak.  She  had  no  command  of  words,  at  least  for 
greeting. 

Willy  earnestly  inquired  after  her  health,  and  said 
how  glad  she  was  to  see1  her,  but  Mrs.  Cliff  did  not 
listen.  She  looked  about  her.  For  an  instant  she 
thought  that  possibly  the  train  had  come  in  ahead  of 
time,  but  this,  of  course,  was  absurd  —  trains  never 
did  that. 

"Willy,"  she  said,  her  voice  a  little  shaken,  "has 
anything  happened?  Is  anybody  sick?" 

"  Oh  no ! "  said  Willy ;  "  everybody  is  well,  so  far 
as  I  know.  I  guess  you  are  wondering  why  there  is 
nobody  here  to  meet  you,  and  I  have  been  wondering 


WILLY  CROUP  DOESN'T  KNOW  11 

at  that  too.  They  must  have  thought  that  you  did 
not  want  to  be  bothered  when  you  were  attending  to 
your  baggage  and  things.  Is  anybody  with  you?" 

"With  me!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Cliff;  "who  could  be 
with  me?" 

"Oh,  I  didn't  know,"  replied  the  other;  "I  thought 
perhaps  you  might  have  a  maidservant,  or  some  of 
those  black  people  you  wrote  about." 

Mrs.  Cliff  was  on  the  point  of  telling  Willy  she  was 
a  fool,  but  she  refrained. 

"Here  is  the  baggage-man,"  said  Willy,  "and  he 
wants  your  checks." 

As  Mrs.  Cliff  took  the  little  pieces  of  brass  from  her 
purse  and  handed  them  to  the  man,  Willy  looked  on  in 
amazement. 

"Good  gracious!"  she  exclaimed.  "Seven!  I"  guess 
you  had  to  pay  for  extra  baggage.  Shall  I  get  you  a 
carriage,  and  where  do  you  want  to  be  driven  to  —  to 
your  own  house  or  the  hotel?" 

Now  Mrs.  Cliff  could  not  restrain  herself.  "What 
is  the  matter  with  you,  Willy?  Have  you  gone  crazy?" 
she  exclaimed.  "Of  course  I  am  going  to  my  own 
house,  and  I  do  not  want  any  carriage.  Did  I  ever 
need  a  carriage  to  take  me  such  a  short  distance  as 
that?  Tell  the  man  to  bring  some  one  with  him  to 
carry  the  trunks  upstairs,  and  then  come  on." 

"Let  me  carry  your  bag,"  said  Willy,  as  the  two 
walked  away  from  the  station  at  a  much  greater  pace, 
it  may  be  remarked,  than  Willy  was  accustomed  to 
walk. 


12  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"No,  you  shall  not  carry  my  bag,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff, 
and  not  another  word  did  she  speak  until  she  had 
entered  the  hallway  of  her  home.  Then,  closing  the 
door  behind  her,  and  without  looking  around  at  any 
of  the  dear  objects  for  a  sight  of  which  she  had  so 
long  been  yearning,  she  turned  to  her  companion. 

"Willy,"  she  cried,  "what  does  this  mean?  Why  do 
you  treat  me  in  this  way  when  I  come  home  after 
having  been  away  so  long,  and  having  suffered  so 
much?  Why  do  you  greet  me  as  if  you  took  me  for 
a  tax  collector?  Why  do  you  stand  there  like  a  —  a 
horrible  clam?" 

Willy  hesitated.  She  looked  up  and  she  looked 
down. 

"Things  are  so  altered,"  she  said,  "and  I  didn't 
know  —  " 

"Well,  know  now,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  as  she  held  out 
her  arms.  In  a  moment  the  two  women  were  clasped 
in  a  tight  embrace,  kissing  and  sobbing. 

"How  should  I  know?"  said  poor  Willy,  as  she  was 
wiping  her  eyes.  "  Chills  went  down  me  as  I  stood  on 
that  platform,  wondering  what  sort  of  a  grand  lady  you 
would  look  like  when  you  got  out  of  the  car,  with  two 
servant  women,  most  likely,  and  perhaps  a  butler,  and 
trying  to  think  what  I  should  say." 

Mrs.  Cliff  laughed.  "You  were  born  addle-pated, 
and  you  can't  help  it.  Now,  let  us  go  through  this 
house  without  wasting  a  minute! "  Willy  gazed  at  her 
in  amazement. 

"  You're  just  the  same  as  you  always  was !  "  she  cried 


WILLY  CROUP  DOESN'T  KNOW  13 

"  Indeed  I  am !  "  said  Mrs.  Cliff.  "  Did  you  clean  this 
dining-room  yourself,  Willy?  It  looks  as  spick  and 
span  as  if  I  had  just  left  it." 

"Indeed  it  does,"  was  the  proud  reply,  "and  you 
couldn't  find  a  speck  of  dust  from  the  ceiling  to  the 
floor!" 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  had  been  upstairs  and  downstairs, 
and  in  the  front  yard,  the  side  yard,  and  the  back 
yard,  and  when  her  happy  eyes  had  rested  upon  all 
her  dear  possessions,  she  went  into  the  kitchen. 

"Now,  Willy,"  she  said,  "let  us  go  to  work  and  get 
supper,  for  I  must  say  I  am  hungry." 

At  this  Willy  Croup  turned  pale,  her  chin  dropped, 
a  horrible  suspicion  took  possession  of  her.  Could  it 
be  possible  that  it  was  all  a  mistake,  or  that  some 
thing  dreadful  had  happened;  that  the  riches  which 
everybody  had  been  talking  about  had  never  existed, 
or  had  disappeared?  She  might  want  to  go  to  her  old 
home;  she  might  want  to  see  her  goods  and  chattels, 
but  that  she  should  want  to  help  get  supper — that 
was  incomprehensible!  At  that  moment  the  world 
looked  very  black  to  Willy.  If  Mrs.  Cliff  had  gone 
into  the  parlor,  and  had  sat  down  in  the  best  rocking- 
chair  to  rest  herself,  and  had  said  to  her,  "Please 
get  supper  as  soon  as  you  can,"  Willy  would  have 
believed  in  everything,  but  now —  ! 

The  grinding  of  heavy  wheels  was  heard  in  front 
of  the  house,  and  Willy  turned  quickly  and  looked 
out  of  the  window.  There  was  a  wagon  containing 
seven  enormous  trunks !  Since  the  days  when  Plainton 


14  MKS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

was  a  little  hamlet,  up  to  the  present  time,  when  it 
contained  a  hotel,  a  bank,  a  lyceum,  and  a  weekly 
paper,  no  one  had  ever  arrived  within  its  limits  with 
seven  such  trunks.  Instantly  the  blackness  disap 
peared  from  before  the  mind  of  Willy  Croup. 

"Now,  you  tell  the  men  where  to  carry  them,"  she 
cried,  "and  I  will  get  the  supper  in  no  time!  Betty 
Handshall  stayed  here  until  this  morning,  but  she  went 
away  after  dinner,  for  she  was  afraid  if  she  stayed  she 
would  be  in  the  way,  not  knowing  how  much  help  you 
would  bring  with  you." 

"I  wonder  if  they  are  all  crack-brained,"  thought 
Mrs.  Cliff,  as  she  went  to  the  front  door  to  attend  to 
her  baggage. 

That  evening  nearly  all  Plainton  came  to  see  Mrs. 
Cliff.  No  matter  how  she  returned, — as  a  purse-proud 
bondholder,  as  a  lady  of  elegant  wealth  with  her  attend 
ants,  as  an  old  friend  suddenly  grown  jolly  and  pros 
perous, —  it  would  be  all  right  for  her  neighbors  to  go 
in  and  see  her  in  the  evening.  There  they  might  suit 
themselves  to  her  new  deportment  whatever  it  might 
be,  and  there  would  be  no  danger  of  any  of  them  get 
ting  into  false  positions,  which  would  have  been  very 
likely  indeed  if  they  had  gone  to  meet  her  at  the  station. 

Her  return  to  her  own  house  gave  her  real  friends 
a  great  deal  of  satisfaction,  for  some  of  them  had  feared 
she  would  not  go  there.  It  would  have  been  difficult 
for  them  to  know  how  to  greet  Mrs.  Cliff  at  a  hotel, 
even  such  an  unpretentious  one  as  that  of  Plainton.  All 
these  friends  found  her  the  same  warm-hearted,  cordial 


WILLY  CROUP  DOESN'T  KNOW  15 

woman  that  she  had  ever  been.  In  fact,  if  there  was 
any  change  at  all  in  her,  she  was  more  cordial  than 
they  had  yet  known  her.  As  in  the  case  of  Willy 
Croup,  a  cloud  had  risen  before  her.  She  had  been 
beset  by  the  sudden  fear  that  her  money  already  threat 
ened  to  come  between  her  and  her  old  friends.  "Not  if 
I  can  help  it!"  said  Mrs.  Cliff  to  herself,  as  fervently 
as  if  she  had  been  vowing  a  vow  to  seek  the  Holy  Grail ; 
and  she  did  help  it.  The  good  people  forgot  what  they 
had  expected  to  think  about  her,  and  only  remembered 
what  they  had  always  thought  of  her.  No  matter  what 
had  happened,  she  was  the  same. 

But  what  had  happened,  and  how  it  had  happened, 
and  all  about  it,  up  and  down,  to  the  right  and  the 
left,  above  and  below,  everybody  wanted  to  know,  and 
Mrs.  Cliff,  with  sparkling  eyes,  was  only  too  glad  to 
tell  them.  She  had  been  obliged  to  be  so  reserved 
when  she  had  come  home  before,  that  she  was  all  the 
more  eager  to  be  communicative  now;  and  it  was  past 
midnight  before  the  first  of  that  eager  and  delighted 
company  thought  of  going  home. 

There  was  one  question,  however,  which  Mrs.  Cliff 
successfully  evaded,  and  that  was  —  the  amount  of  her 
wealth.  She  would  not  give  even  an  approximate  idea 
of  the  value  of  her  share  of  the  golden  treasure.  It 
was  very  soon  plain  to  everybody  that  Mrs.  Clift'  was 
the  same  woman  she  used  to  be  in  regard  to  keeping 
to  herself  that  which  she  did  not  wish  to  tell  to  others, 
and  so  everybody  went  away  with  imagination  abso 
lutely  unfettered. 


16  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

CHAPTER  III 

MI88    NANCY    8HOTT 

THE  next  morning  Mrs.  Cliff  sat  alone  in  her  parlor 
with  her  mind  earnestly  fixed  upon  her  own  circum 
stances.  Out  in  the  kitchen,  Willy  Croup  was  dashing 
about  like  a  domestic  fanatic,  eager  to  get  the  morning's 
work  done  and  everything  put  in  order,  that  she  might 
go  upstairs  with  Mrs.  Cliff,  and  witness  the  opening  of 
those  wonderful  trunks. 

She  was  a  happy  woman,  for  she  had  a  new  dish-pan, 
which  Mrs.  Cliff  had  authorized  her  to  buy  that  very 
morning,  the  holes  in  the  bottom  of  the  old  one  having 
been  mended  so  often  that  she  and  Mrs.  Cliff  both 
believed  that  it  would  be  very  well  to  get  a  new  one 
and  rid  themselves  of  further  trouble. 

Willy  also  had  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of  stopping 
at  the  carpenter  shop  on  her  way  to  buy  the  dish-pan, 
and  order  him  to  come  and  do  whatever  was  necessary 
to  the  back-kitchen  door.  Sometimes  it  had  been  the 
hinges  and  sometimes  it  had  been  the  lock  which  had 
been  out  of  order  on  that  door  for  at  least  a  year,  and 
although  they  had  been  tinkering  here  and  tinkering 
there,  the  door  had  never  worked  properly;  and  now 
Mrs.  Cliff  had  said  that  it  must  be  put  in  perfect  order 
even  if  a  new  door  and  a  new  frame  were  required,  and 
without  any  regard  to  what  it  might  cost.  This  to 
Willy  was  the  dawn  of  a  new  era,  and  the  thought  of 
it  excited  her  like  wine. 


MISS   NANCY   SHOTT  17 

Mrs.  Cliff's  mind  was  not  excited;  it  was  disquieted. 
She  had  been  thinking  of  her  investments  and  of  her 
deposits,  all  of  which  had  been  made  under  wise  advice, 
and  it  had  suddenly  occurred  to  her  to  calculate  how 
much  richer  she  was  to-day  than  she  had  been  yester 
day.  When  she  appreciated  the  fact  that  the  interest 
on  her  invested  property  had  increased  her  wealth,  since 
the  previous  morning,  by  some  hundreds  of  dollars,  it 
frightened  her.  She  felt  as  if  an  irresistible  flood  of 
opulence  was  flowing  in  upon  her,  and  she  shuddered 
to  think  of  the  responsibility  of  directing  it  into  its 
proper  courses,  and  so  preventing  it  from  overwhelm 
ing  her  and  sweeping  her  away. 

To-morrow  there  would  be  several  hundred  dollars 
more,  and  the  next  day  more,  and  so  on  always,  and 
what  was  she  doing,  or  what  had  she  planned  to  do,  to 
give  proper  direction  to  these  tidal  waves  of  wealth? 
She  had  bought  a  new  dish-pan  and  ordered  a  door 
repaired ! 

To  be  sure,  it  was  very  soon  to  begin  to  think  of 
the  expenditure  of  her  income,  but  it  was  a  question 
which  could  not  be  postponed.  The  importance  of  it 
was  increasing  all  the  time.  Every  five  minutes  she 
was  two  dollars  richer. 

For  a  moment  she  wished  herself  back  in  Paris  or 
New  York.  There  she  might  open  some  flood-gate 
which  would  give  instant  relief  from  the  pressure  of 
her  affluence  and  allow  her  time  to  think;  but  what 
could  she  do  in  Plainton?  At  least,  how  should  she 
begin  to  do  anything? 


18  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

She  got  up  and  walked  about  the  room.  She  was 
becoming  aiinoyed,  and  even  a  little  angry.  She  re 
sented  this  intrusion  of  her  wealth  upon  her.  She 
wanted  to  rest  quietly  for  a  time,  to  enjoy  her  home 
and  friends,  and  not  be  obliged  to  think  of  anything 
which  it  was  incumbent  upon  her  to  do.  From  the 
bottom  of  her  heart  she  wished  that  her  possessions 
had  all  been  solid  gold,  or  in  some  form  in  which 
they  could  not  increase,  expand,  or  change  in  any 
way  until  she  gave  them  leave.  Then  she  would  live 
for  a  week  or  two,  as  she  used  to  live,  without  thought 
of  increment  or  responsibilities,  until  she  was  ready 
to  begin  the  life  of  a  rich  woman  and  to  set  in  motion 
the  currents  of  her  exuberant  income. 

But  she  could  not  change  the  state  of  affairs.  The 
system  of  interest  had  been  set  in  motion,  and  her 
income  was  flowing  in  upon  her  hour  by  hour,  day  by 
day,  steadily  and  irresistibly,  and  her  mind  could  not 
be  at  rest  until  she  had  done  something  —  at  least, 
planned  something  —  which  would  not  only  prevent 
her  from  being  overwhelmed  and  utterly  discouraged, 
but  which  would  enable  her  to  float  proudly,  on  this 
grand  current  of  absolute  power,  over  the  material 
interests  of  the  world. 

Mrs.  Cliff  was  a  woman  of  good  sense.  No  matter 
how  much  money  she  might  possess,  she  would  have 
considered  herself  its  unworthy  possessor  if  she  should 
spend  any  of  it  without  proper  value  received.  She 
might  spend  it  foolishly,  but  she  wanted  the  worth 
of  her  money.  She  would  consider  it  a  silly  thing, 


MISS   NANCY   SHOTT  19 

for  instance,  to  pay  a  thousand  dollars  for  an  India 
shawl,  because  few  people  wore  India  shawls,  and  she 
did  not  care  for  them ;  but  if  she  had  done  so,  she  would 
have  been  greatly  mortified  if  she  found  that  she  had 
paid  too  much,  and  that  she  might  have  bought  as 
good  a  shawl  for  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

Since  she  had  been  in  that  room  and  thinking  about 
these  things,  enough  interest  had  come  to  her  to  enable 
her  to  buy  a  good  silver  watch  for  some  deserving  per 
son.  Now,  who  was  there  to  whom  she  could  give  a 
plain  silver  watch?  Willy  Croup  would  be  glad  to 
have  it,  but  then  it  would  be  better  to  wait  a  few 
hours  and  give  her  a  gold  one. 

Now  it  was  that  Willy  came  into  the  room  with  a 
disappointed  expression  upon  her  countenance. 

"I  was  just  coming  in  to  tell  you,"  she  said,  "that 
I  was  ready  now  to  go  up  and  help  you  open  the  trunks, 
but  here  comes  that  horrid  Miss  Shott,  and  dear  knows 
how  long  she  will  stay ! " 

Nancy  Shott  was  the  leading  spinster  of  Plainton. 
In  companies  where  there  were  married  ladies  she  was 
sometimes  obliged  to  take  a  second  place,  but  never 
among  maidens,  old  or  young.  There  were  very  few 
subjects  upon  which  Miss  Shott  had  not  an  opinion; 
and  whatever  this  opinion  might  be,  she  considered 
it  her  first  duty  in  life  to  express  it.  As  a  rule, 
the  expression  was  more  agreeable  to  her  than  to 
others. 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  heard  that  Miss  Shott  was  approach 
ing,  she  instantly  forgot  her  wealth  and  all  her  per- 


20  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

plexities  concerning  it.  Miss  Shott  had  not  called 
upon  her  the  previous  evening,  but  she  had  not  ex 
pected  her,  nor  did  she  expect  her  now. 

On  her  previous  visit  to  Plainton,  Mrs.  Cliff  had 
been  shamefully  insulted  by  Miss  Shott,  who  had 
accused  her  of  extravagance,  and,  by  implication,  of 
dishonesty,  and  in  return,  the  indignant  widow  had 
opened  upon  her  such  a  volley  of  justifiable  retalia 
tion  that  Miss  Shott,  in  great  wrath,  had  retired  from 
the  house,  followed,  figuratively,  by  a  small  coin  which 
she  had  brought  as  a  present  and  which  had  been  hurled 
after  her. 

But  Mrs.  Cliff  knew  that  her  acrimonious  neighbor 
could  never  be  depended  upon  to  do  anything  which 
might  be  expected  of  her,  and  she  was  not  quite  so 
much  surprised  as  she  was  annoyed.  Of  course,  she 
had  known  she  must  meet  Nancy  Shott,  and  she  had 
intended  to  do  nothing  which  would  recall  to  the  mind 
of  any  one  that  she  remembered  the  disagreeable  inci 
dent  referred  to,  but  she  had  not  expected  that  the 
meeting  would  be  in  private. 

She  knew  that  Nancy  would  do  something  decidedly 
unpleasant.  If  she  had  stayed  away  because  she  wanted 
a  chance  to  re-open  the  previous  quarrel,  that  would 
be  bad  enough;  but  if  she  had  determined  to  drop  all 
resentment  and  had  come  prepared  to  offer  honey  and 
sugar,  and  thus  try  to  make  a  rich  friend  out  of  one 
she  had  considered  as  a  poor  enemy,  that  would  lie  still 
more  disagreeable.  But  by  the  time  the  visitor  had 
entered  the  parlor,  Mrs.  Cliff  had  made  up  her  mind 


MISS   NANCY   SHOTT  21 

to  meet  her  as  if  nothing  unpleasant  had  ever  happened 
between  them,  and  then  to  await  the  course  of  events. 
She  was  not  at  all  pleased  with  the  visit,  but,  notwith 
standing  this,  she  had  great  curiosity  to  know  what 
Miss  Shott  had  to  say  about  the  change  in  her  circum 
stances. 

Nancy  Shott  was  different  from  other  people.  She 
was  capable  of  drawing  the  most  astounding  inferences 
and  of  coming  to  the  most  soul-irritating  conclusions, 
even  on  subjects  which  could  not  be  otherwise  than 
pleasant  to  ordinary  people. 

"How  do  you  do?"  said  Miss  Shott,  offering  her 
hand.  "I  am  glad  to  see  you  back,  Mrs.  Cliff." 

Mrs.  Cliff  replied  that  she  was  quite  well  and  was 
glad  to  be  back. 

"You  are  not  looking  as  hale  as  you  did,"  said  the 
visitor,  as  she  seated  herself;  "you  must  have  lost  a 
good  many  pounds,  but  that  was  to  be  expected.  From 
what  I  have  heard,  South  America  must  be  about  as 
unhealthy  a  place  as  any  part  of  the  world,  and  then 
on  top  of  that,  living  in  Paris  with  water  to  drink 
which,  I  am  told,  is  enough  to  make  anybody  sick  to 
look  at  it,  is  bound  to  have  some  sort  of  an  effect  upon 
a  person." 

Mrs.  Cliff  smiled.  She  was  used  to  this  sort  of  talk 
from  Nancy  Shott.  "  I  am  better  than  I  was  two  years 
ago,"  she  said,  "and  the  last  time  I  was  weighed  I 
found  that  I  had  gained  seven  pounds." 

"Well,  there  is  no  accounting  for  that,"  said  her 
visitor,  "except  as  we  grow  old  we  are  bound  to  show 


22  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

it,  and  sometimes  aging  looks  like  bad  health,  and  as 
to  fat,  that  often  comes  as  years  go  on,  though  as  far  as 
I  am  concerned,  I  think  it  is  a  great  misfortune  to  have 
more  to  carry,  as  you  get  less  and  less  able  to  carry  it." 

Mrs.  Cliff  might  have  said  that  that  sort  of  thing 
would  not  be  likely  to  trouble  Miss  Shott,  whose  scant 
ily  furnished  frame  was  sure  to  become  thinner  and 
thinner  as  she  became  older  and  weaker,  but  she  merely 
smiled  and  waited  to  hear  what  would  come  next. 

"I  do  not  want  to  worry  you,"  said  Miss  Shott;  "but 
several  people  that  were  here  last  night  said  you  was 
not  looking  as  they  had  hoped  to  see  you  look,  and  I 
will  just  say  to  you,  if  it  is  anything  connected  with 
your  appetite,  with  a  feeling  of  goneness  in  the  morn 
ings,  you  ought  to  buy  a  quassia  cup  and  drink  the 
full  of  it  at  least  three  times  a  day." 

Miss  Shott  knew  that  Mrs.  Cliff  absolutely  detested 
the  taste  of  quassia.  Mrs.  Cliff  was  not  annoyed.  She 
hoped  that  her  visitor  would  soon  get  through  with 
these  prefatory  remarks  and  begin  to  take  the  stand, 
whatever  it  might  be,  which  she  had  come  there  that 
morning  to  take. 

"There  has  been  sickness  here  since  you  last  left," 
said  Miss  Shott,  "and  it  has-been  where  it  was  least 
to  be  expected,  too.  Barney  Thompson's  little  boy, 
the  second  sou,  has  had  the  diphtheria,  and  where  he 
got  it  nobody  knows,  for  it  was  vacation  time,  and  he 
did  not  go  to  school,  and  there  was  no  other  diphtheria 
anywhere  in  all  this  town,  and  yet  he  had  it  and  had  it 
bad." 


MISS  NANCY'  SHOTT  23 

"He  did  not  die?"  said  Mrs.  Cliff. 

"Oh  no,  he  got  over  it,  and  perhaps  it  was  a  bad 
case  and  perhaps  it  was  not;  but  you  may  be  sure  I  did 
not  go  near  it,  for  I  considered  it  iny  duty  to  keep  away, 
and  I  did  keep  away,  but  the  trouble  is  —  " 

"And  did  none  of  the  other  children  take  it?"  asked 
Mrs.  Cliff. 

"No,  they  didn't.  But  the  trouble  is,  that  when 
diphtheria  or  anything  like  it  comes  up  suddenly  like 
this,  without  any  reason  that  nobody  can  see,  it  is 
just  as  likely  to  come  up  again  without  any  reason,  and 
I  am  expecting  to  hear  every  day  of  another  of  them 
Thompson  children  being  stricken  down;  and  I  was  very 
sorry  indeed,  Mrs.  Cliff,  to  see,  this  very  morning,  Willy 
Croup  coming  out  of  Barney  Thompson's  house  and  to 
hear  from  her  afterwards  that  she  had  been  to  order 
him  to  come  here  to  put  up  a  new  kitchen  door,  which 
I  do  not  suppose  is  absolutely  needed,  and  even  if  it 
is,  I  am  sure  I  would  wait  a  good  while  before  I  would 
have"  Barney  Thompson  come  into  my  house  with  diph 
theria,  that  very  minute,  perhaps,  in  the  throats  of  one 
or  maybe  more  of  his  children;  but  of  course,  if  people 
choose  to  trifle  with  their  own  lives,  it  is  their  own 
business." 

"It  was  not  real  diphtheria,"  said  Willy  Croup,  who 
happened  to  be  passing  the  open  door  at  this  moment; 
"  it  was  only  a  bad  sore  throat,  and  the  child  was  well 
in  two  days." 

"I  suppose,  of  course,"  said  Miss  Shott,  "that  if  the 
disease  did  get  into  this  house,  Willy  Croup  would  be 


24  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

the  first  to  take  it,  because  she  is  such  a  spongy  person 
that  she  takes  almost  anything  that  is  in  the  air  and  is 
not  wholesome;  but  then  you  would  not  want  to  lose 
her,  and  after  a  funeral  in  the  house,  no  matter  whose 
it  may  be,  things  is  always  gloomy  for  a  long  time 
afterwards,  and  nobody  can  feel  easy  if  it  was  a  catchin' 
disease  that  the  person  died  of." 

Mrs.  Cliff  was  naturally  desirous  to  hear  all  the 
domestic  news  of  the  town,  but  she  would  have  liked 
to  have  had  something  pleasant  thrown  in  among  the 
gloomy  tidings  of  which  Miss  Shott  had  made  herself 
the  bearer,  and  so  she  made  a  little  effort  to  turn  the 
conversation. 

"  1  shall  be  glad  to  go  about  and  see  my  old  friends 
and  neighbors,"  she  said,  "for  I  am  interested  in  every 
thing  which  has  happened  to  them;  but  I  suppose  it  will 
be  some  days  before  I  can  settle  down  and  feel  ready  to 
go  on  in  the  old  way.  It  seems  to  me  as  if  I  had  been 
on  the  move  ever  since  I  left  here,  although,  of  course, 
I  was  not  travelling  all  the  time." 

"I  suppose  nobody  has  told  you,"  said  Miss  Shott, 
"  that  Edward  Darley  has  ploughed  up  that  little  pasture 
of  his  and  planted  it  with  young  apple  trees.  Now,  it 
does  seem  to  me  that  for  a  man  like  Edward  Darley, 
who  comes  of  a  consumptive  family,  and  who  has  been 
cough  in'  regularly,  to  my  certain  knowledge,  for  more 
than  a  year,  to  go  and  plant  apple  trees,  which  he  can't 
expect  to  live  to  see  bear  fruit,  is  nothing  more  or  less 
than  a  wicked  waste  of  money,  time,  and  lalx>r.  I 
suppose  if  I  was  to  go  and  tell  him  so  he  would  not  like 


A    LAUNCH   INTO   A   NEW   LIFE  25 

that,  but  I  do  not  know  as  I  ought  to  consider  it.  There 
are  people  in  this  world  who'll  never  know  anything  if 
they're  not  told!" 

Five  other  topics  of  the  town,  each  of  a  doleful 
nature  and  each  indicating  an  evident  depravity  in  a 
citizen  of  Plainton,  were  related  by  Miss  Shott,  and 
then  she  arose  to  go. 

"I  hope  you'll  remember  what  I  told  you  about 
Thompson's  children,"  she  said,  as  she  walked  to  the 
front  door,  "and  if  I  was  you,  I'd  have  that  kitchen 
fumigated  after  he  has  put  the  door  in!" 

"  There  now ! "  said  Miss  Shott  to  herself,  as  she 
proudly  walked  down  the  street.  "The  Widow  Cliff 
can't  say  I've  done  any  toadying;  and,  no  matter  what 
she's  got,  and  what  she  hasn't  got,  she  can't  say  to 
herself  that  I  consider  her  any  better  able  to  give  me 
twenty-five  cents  than  she  was  when  she  was  here 
before;  or  that  it  makes  any  difference  to  me  whether 
she  has  much  or  little ! " 


CHAPTER   IV 

A    LAUNCH    INTO    A    NEW    LIFE 

IT  required  the  greater  part  of  two  days  for  Mrs.  Cliff 
and  Willy  to  open  the  seven  trunks,  and  properly  dis 
play  and  dispose  of  the  various  articles  and  goods, 
astonishing  in  their  variety  and  beauty,  and  absolutely 
amazing  when  the  difference  between  the  price  paid 


26  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

for  them  and  what  they  would  have  cost  in  New  York 
was  considered. 

During  these  fascinating  operations  it  so  happened 
that  at  one  time  or  another  nearly  all  of  Mrs.  Cliff's 
female  friends  dropped  in,  and  all  were  wonderfully 
impressed  by  what  they  saw  and  what  they  heard;  but 
although  Miss  Shott  did  not  come  there  during  the 
grand  opening,  it  was  not  long  before  she  knew  the 
price  and  something  of  the  general  appearance  of  nearly 
everything  that  Mrs.  Cliff  had  brought  with  her. 

Among  the  contents  of  the  trunks  were  a  great  many 
presents  for  Mrs.  Cliff's  friends,  and  whenever  M 
Shott  heard  of  one  of  these  gifts,  she  made  a  remark 
to  the  effect  that  she  had  not  a  doubt  in  the  world 
that  the  Widow  Cliff  knew  better  than  to  bring  her  a 
present,  for  she  would  not  want  the  thing,  whatever  it 
was,  whether  a  glass  pitcher  or  a  pin-cushion,  flung 
back  at  her  after  the  fashion  that  she  had  set  herself 
at  a  time  when  everybody  was  trying  their  best  to  be 
kind  to  her. 

It  was  clearly  a  fact,  that  through  the  influence  of 
the  seven  trunks  Mrs.  Cliff  was  becoming  a  very  popu 
lar  woman,  and  Miss  Shott  did  not  like  it  at  all.  She 
had  never  had  any  faith  —  at  least  she  said  so  —  in  those 
lumps  of  gold  found  in  a  hole  in  some  part  of  the  world 
that  nobody  had  ever  heard  of;  and  had  not  hesitated 
to  say  that  fortunes  founded  on  such  wild-goose  stories 
as  these  should  not  even  be  considered  by  people  of 
good  sense  who  worked  for  their  living,  or  had  incomes 
which  they  could  depend  on.  But  the  dress  goods,  the 


A   LAUNCH    INTO   A   NEW   LIFE  27 

ribbons,  the  gloves,  the  little  clocks,  the  shoes,  the  par 
asols,  the  breast-pins,  the  portfolios  of  pictures,  the  jew 
elry,  the  rugs  and  table  covers,  and  hundreds  of  other 
beautiful  and  foreign  things,  were  a  substantial  evi 
dence  that  Mrs.  Cliff's  money  was  not  all  moonshine. 

It  was  very  pleasant  for  Mrs.  Cliff  to  bring  out  her 
treasures  to  display  them  to  her  enthusiastic  friends, 
and  to  arrange  them  in  her  house,  and  to  behold  the 
rapturous  delight  of  Willy  Croup  from  early  morn  until 
bed-time. 

But  the  seven  empty  trunks  had  been  carried  up  into 
the  garret,  and  now  Mrs.  Cliff  set  her  mind  to  the  solu 
tion  of  the  question  —  how  was  she  to  begin  her  new 
life  in  her  old  home?  It  must  be  a  new  life,  for  to 
live  as  she  had  lived  even  in  the  days  of  her  highest 
prosperity  during  her  husband's  life  would  be  absurd 
and  even  wicked.  With  such  an  income  she  must  en 
deavor  as  far  as  was  possible  to  her  to  live  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  it ;  but  one  thing  she  was  determined  upon  — 
she  would  not  alienate  her  friends  by  climbing  to  the 
top  of  her  money  and  looking  down  upon  them.  None 
of  them  knew  how  high  she  would  be  if  she  were  to 
perch  herself  on  the  very  top  of  that  money,  but  even 
if  she  climbed  up  a  little  way,  they  might  still  feel  that 
they  were  very  small  in  her  sight. 

No,  the  money  should  always  be  kept  in  the  back 
ground.  It  might  be  as  high  as  the  sky  and  as  glorious 
as  a  sunset,  but  she  would  be  on  the  ground  with  the 
people  of  Plainton,  and  as  far  as  was  possible,  they 
should  all  enjoy  the  fine  weather  together. 


28  MBS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

She  could  not  repress  a  feeling  of  pride,  for  she 
would  l>e  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  principal  persons 
—  if  not  the  principal  person  —  in  Plainton;  but  she 
could  not  believe  that  any  real  friend  could  possibly 
object  to  that. 

If  her  husband  had  lived  and  prospered,  it  was  prob 
able  he  would  have  been  the  principal  man  in  Plainton, 
the  minister  always  excepted;  but  now  there  was  no 
reason  whatever  why  any  one  should  object  to  her  being 
a  principal  personage,  and,  in  this  case,  she  could  not 
see  why  the  minister's  wife  should  be  excepted.  * 

But  Plainton  was  to  be  her  home;  the  Plainton 
people  were  to  be  her  friends.  How  should  she  set 
about  using  her  money  in  such  a  way  that  she  should 
not  be  driven  forth  to  some  large  city  to  live  as  ordi 
nary  wealthy  people  live,  in  a  fashion  to  which  she  was 
utterly  unsuited,  and  which  possessed  for  her  no  attrac 
tions  whatever? 

Of  course,  she  had  early  determined  to  devote  a  large 
sum  to  charitable  purposes,  for  she  would  have  thought 
herself  a  very  unworthy  woman  if  her  wealth  had  not 
benefited  others  than  herself,  but  this  was  an  easy 
matter  to  attend  to.  The  amount  she  had  set  aside 
for  charity  was  not  permanently  invested,  and,  through 
the  advice  of  Mr.  Perley,  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in 
devoting  this  to  suitable  objects.  Already  she  had  con 
fidentially  spoken  to  her  pastor  on  the  subject,  and  had 
found  him  enthusiastic  in  his  desire  to  help  her  in 
every  possible  way  in  her  benevolent  purposes.  But 
who  was  there  who  could  help  her  in  regard  to  her- 


A   LAUNCH   INTO   A   NEW   LIFE  29 

self?  Who  was  there  who  could  tell  her  how  she 
ought  to  live  so  as  to  gain  all  the  good  that  her  money 
should  give  her,  and  yet  not  lose  that  which  was  to  her 
the  highest  object  of  material  existence, —  a  happy  and 
prosperous  life  among  her  old  friends  in  her  native 
town?  „ 

Should  she  choose  to  elevate  herself  in  the  social 
circle  by  living  as  ordinary  very  rich  people  live,  she 
could  not  hope  to  elevate  her  friends  in  that  way, 
although  she  would  be  glad  enough  to  do  it  in  many 
cases,  and  there  would  be  a  gap  between  them  which 
would  surely  grow  wider  and  wider;  arid  yet  here  was 
this  money  coming  in  upon  her  in  a  steady  stream  day 
by  day,  and  how  was  she  going  to  make  herself  happier 
with  it? 

She  must  do  that,  or,  she  believed,  it  would  be  her 
duty  to  hand  it  over  to  somebody  else  who  was  better 
adapted  by  nature  to  use  it. 

"  If  I  did  not  take  so  much  pleasure  in  things  which 
cost  so  little  and  which  are  so  easy  for  me  to  buy," 
said  poor  Mrs.  Cliff  to  herself,  "or  if  I  did  not  have 
so  much  money,  I  am  sure  I  should  get  on  a  great  deal 
better." 

Mrs.  Cliff's  belief  that  she  must  not  long  delay  in 
selecting  some  sort  of  station  in  life,  and  endeavoring 
to  live  up  to  it,  was  soon  strengthened  by  Willy  Croup. 
During  the  time  of  the  trunk  opening,  and  for  some 
days  afterwards,  when  all  her  leisure  hours  were  occu 
pied  with  the  contemplation  and  consideration  of  her 
own  presents,  Willy  had  been  perfectly  contented  to  let 


30  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

things  go  on  in  the  old  way,  or  any  way,  but  now  the 
incongruity  of  Mrs.  Cliff's  present  mode  of  living,  and 
the  probable  amount  of  her  fortune,  began  to  impress 
itself  upon  her. 

"  It  does  seem  to  me, "  said  she,  "  that  it's  a  sin  and 
a  shame  that  you  should  be  goin'  about  this  house  just 
as  you  used  to  do,  helpin'  me  upstairs  and  downstairs, 
as  if  you  couldn't  afford  to  hire  nobody.  You  ought  to 
have  a  girl,  and  a  good  one,  and  for  the  matter  of  that, 
you  might  have  two  of  'em,  I  suppose.  And  even  if  it 
wasn't  too  much  for  you  to  be  workiu'  about  when 
there's  no  necessity  for  it,  the  people  are  beginuiu'  to 
talk,  and  that  ought  to  be  stopped." 

"  What  are  they  talking  about? "  asked  Mrs.  Cliff. 

"Well,  it's  not  everybody  that's  talkin',"  returned 
Willy,  "and  I  guess  that  them  that  does  gets  their 
opinions  from  one  quarter,  but  I've  heard  people  say 
that  it's  pretty  plain  that  all  you  got  out  of  that  gold 
mine  you  spent  in  buyin'  the  things  you  brought  home 
in  your  trunks;  for  if  you  didn't,  you  wouldn't  be  livin' 
like  this,  helpin'  to  do  your  own  housework  and 
cook  in'." 

In  consequence  of  this  conversation,  a  servant-of -all- 
work  was  employed;  for  Mrs.  Cliff  did  not  know  what 
she  would  do  with  two  \vomen  until  she  had  made  a 
change  in  her  household  arrangements;  and  with  this 
as  a  beginning,  our  good  widow  determined  to  start 
out  on  her  career  as  a  rich  woman  who  intended  to 
enjoy  herself  in  the  fashion  she  liked  best. 

She  sent  for  Mr.  Thompson,  the  carpenter,  and  con- 


A   LAUNCH   INTO   A   NEW   LIFE  31 

suited  with  him  in  regard  to  the  proposed  additions  to 
her  house,  but  when  she  had  talked  for  a  time,  she 
became  disheartened.  She  found  that  it  would  be 
necessary  to  dig  a  new  cellar  close  to  her  present  prem 
ises;  that  there  would  be  stones,  and  gravel,  and  lime, 
and  sand,  and  carts  and  horses,  and  men,  and  dirt;  and 
that  it  would  be  some  months  before  all  the  hammering, 
and  the  sawing,  and  the  planing,  and  the  plastering,  and 
tinwork  could  be  finished,  and  all  this  would  be  going 
on  under  her  eye,  and  close  to  her  ears  during  those 
first  months  in  which  she  had  proposed  to  be  so  happy 
in  her  home.  She  could  not  bear  to  give  the  word  to 
dig,  and  pound,  and  saw.  It  was  not  like  building  a 
new  house,  for  that  would  not  be  near  her,  and  the  hub 
bub  of  its  construction  would  not  annoy  her. 

So  she  determined  she  would  not  begin  a  new  dining- 
room  at  present.  She  would  wait  a  little  while  until 
she  had  had  some  good  of  her  house  as  it  was,  and  then 
she  would  feel  better  satisfied  to  live  in  the  midst  of 
pounding,  banging,  and  all-pervading  dust;  but  she 
would  do  something.  She  would  have  the  fence  whicli 
separated  the  sidewalk  from  her  front  yard  newly 
painted.  She  had  long  wanted  to  have  that  done,  but 
had  not  been  able  to  afford  it. 

But  when  Mr.  Thompson  went  to  look  at  the  fence, 
he  told  her  that  it  would  be  really  a  waste  of  money 
to  paint  it,  for  in  many  places  it  was  old  and  decayed, 
and  it  would  be  much  wiser  to  put  up  a  new  one  and 
paint  that. 

Again  Mrs.  Cliff  hesitated.     If  that  fence  had  to  be 


32  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

taken  down,  and  the  posts  dug  up,  and  new  posts  put 
in,  and  the  flower-bed  which  ran  along  the  inside  of  it 
destroyed,  it  would  be  just  as  well  to  wait  until  the 
other  work  began  and  have  it  all  done  at  once;  so  she 
told  Mr.  Thompson  he  need  not  send  a  painter,  for  she 
would  make  the  old  fence  do  for  a  while. 

Mrs.  Cliff  sighed  a  little  as  the  carpenter  walked 
away,  but  there  were  other  things  to  do.  There  was 
the  pasture  lot  at  the  rear  of  her  garden,  and  she  could 
have  a  cow,  and  there  was  the  little  barn,  and  she  could 
have  a  horse.  The  idea  of  the  horse  pleased  her  more 
than  anything  she  had  yet  thought  of  in  connection 
with  her  wealth. 

In  her  days  of  prosperity  it  had  been  her  greatest 
pleasure  to  drive  in  her  phaeton  with  her  good  brown 
horse,  generally  with  Willy  Croup  by  her  side;  to  stop 
at  shops  or  to  make  calls  upon  friends,  and  to  make 
those  little  excursions  into  the  surrounding  country  in 
which  she  and  Willy  both  delighted.  They  had  some 
times  gone  a  long  distance  and  had  taken  their  dinner 
with  them,  and  Willy  was  really  very  good  in  unhar 
nessing  the  horse  and  watering  him  at  a  brook,  and  in 
giving  him  some  oats. 

To  return  to  these  old  joys  was  a  delightful  prospect, 
and  Mrs.  Cliff  made  inquiries  about  her  horse,  which 
had  been  sold  in  the  town ;  but  he  was  gone.  He  had 
been  sold  to  a  drover,  and  his  whereabouts  no  one  knew. 

So  she  went  to  Mr.  Williams,  the  keeper  of  the  hotel, 
who  knew  more  about  horses  than  anybody  else,  ana 
consulted  with  him  on  the  subject  of  a  new  steed.  She 


A   LAUNCH   INTO   A   NEW   LIFE  33 

told  him  just  what  she  wanted:  a  gentle  horse  which 
she  could  drive  herself,  and  one  which  Willy  could  hold 
when  she  went  into  a  house  or  a  shop. 

Now,  it  so  happened  that  Mr.  Williams  had  just  such 
a  horse,  and  when  Mrs.  Cliff  had  seen  it,  and  when 
Willy  had  come  up  to  look  at  it,  and  when  the  matter 
had  been  talked  about  in  all  the  aspects  in  which  it 
presented  itself  to  Mrs.  Cliff's  mind,  she  bought  the 
animal,  and  it  was  taken  to  her  stable,  where  Andrew 
Marks,  a  neighbor,  was  engaged  to  take  care  of  it. 

The  next  morning  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy  took  a  drive 
a  little  way  out  of  town,  and  they  both  agreed  that  this 
horse,  which  was  gray,  was  a  great  deal  better  traveller 
than  the  old  brown,  and  a  much  handsomer  animal;  but 
both  of  them  also  agreed  that  they  did  not  believe  that 
they  would  ever  learn  to  love  him  as  they  had  their  old 
horse. 

Still  he  was  very  easy  to  drive,  and  he  went  along 
so  pleasantly,  without  needing  the  whip  in  the  least, 
that  Mrs.  Cliff  said  to  herself,  that  for  the  first  time 
since  her  return  she  really  felt  herself  a  rich  woman. 

"If  everything,"  she  thought,  "should  come  to  me 
as  this  horse  came  to  me,  how  delightful  my  life  would 
be!  When  I  wanted  him,  I  found  him.  I  did  not 
have  to  trouble  myself  in  the  least  about  the  price;  I 
simply  paid  it,  and  ordered  him  sent  home.  Now,  that 
sort  of  thing  is  what  makes  a  person  feel  truly  rich." 

When  they  had  gone  far  enough,  and  had  reached  a 
wide  place  in  the  road,  Mrs.  Cliff  turned  and  started 
back  to  Plainton.  But  now  the  horse  began  to  be  a 


84  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

different  kind  of  a  horse.  With  his  face  towards  his 
home,  he  set  out  to  trot  as  fast  as  he  could,  and  when 
Mrs.  Cliff,  not  liking  such  a  rapid  pace,  endeavored  to 
pull  him  in,  she  found  it  very  hard  to  do,  and  when 
she  began  to  saw  his  mouth,  thinking  that  would 
restrain  his  ardor,  he  ambled  and  capered,  and  Mrs. 
Cliff  was  obliged  to  let  him  resume  his  rapid  gait. 

He  was  certainly  a  very  hard-mouthed  horse,  going 
home,  and  Mrs.  Cliff's  arms  ached,  and  "Willy  Croup's 
heart  quaked,  long  before  they  reached  the  town. 
When  they  reached  Plainton,  Mrs.  Cliff  began  to  be 
afraid  that  he  would  gallop  through  the  streets,  and 
she  told  Willy  that  if  he  did,  she  must  not  scream,  but 
must  sit  quietly,  and  she  would  endeavor  to  steer  him 
clear  of  the  vehicles  and  people. 

But  although  he  did  not  gallop,  the  ardent  gray 
seemed  to  travel  faster  after  he  entered  the  town, 
and  Mrs.  Cliff,  who  was  getting  very  red  in  the  face 
from  her  steady  tugging  at  the  reins,  thought  it  wise 
not  to  attempt  to  go  home,  but  to  let  her  horse  go 
straight  to  the  hotel  stables  where  he  had  lived. 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  had  declared  to  Mr.  Williams  that 
that  horse  would  never  suit  her,  that  she  would  not 
be  willing  to  drive  it,  and  would  not  even  think  of 
going  into  a  house  and  leaving  Willy  Croup  to  hold 
him,  he  was  very  much  surprised,  and  said  that  he 
had  not  a  gentler  horse  in  his  stable,  and  he  did  not 
believe  there  was  one  in  the  town. 

"All  horses,"  said  he,  "want  to  go  home,  especially 
at  dinner-time." 


A   LAUNCH   INTO   A   NEW    LIFE  35 

"But  the  old  brown  did  not,"  urged  Mrs.  Cliff. 
"That  is  the  sort  of  horse  I  want." 

"  Some  very  old  beast  might  please  you  better, "  said 
he;  "but  really,  Mrs.  Cliff,  that  is  not  the  sort  of  horse 
you  should  have.  He  would  die  or  break  down  in  a 
little  while,  and  then  you  would  have  to  get  another. 
What  you  should  do  is  to  have  a  good  horse  and  a 
driver.  You  might  get  a  two-seated  carriage,  either 
open  or  closed,  and  go  anywhere  and  everywhere,  and 
never  think  of  the  horse." 

That  was  not  the  thing  she  longed  for;  that  would 
not  bring  back  the  happy  days  when  she  drove  the 
brown  through  the  verdant  lanes.  If  she  must  have 
a  driver,  she  might  as  well  hire  a  cab  and  be  driven 
about.  But  she  told  Mr.  Williams  to  get  her  a  suitable 
vehicle,  and  she  would  have  Andrew  Marks  to  drive 
her;  and  she  and  Willy  Croup  walked  sadly  home. 

As  to  the  cow,  she  succeeded  better.  She  bought  a 
fairly  good  one,  and  Willy  undertook  to  milk  her  and 
to  make  butter. 

"Now,  what  have  I  done  so  far?"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  on 
the  evening  of  the  day  when  the  cow  came  home.  "  I 
have  a  woman  to  cook,  I  have  a  new  kitchen  door,  and 
I  have  a  cow !  I  do  not  count  the  horse  and  the  wagon, 
for  if  I  do  not  drive,  myself,  I  shall  not  feel  that  they 
are  mine  in  the  way  that  I  want  them  to  be." 


86  MKS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

CHAPTER  V 

A    FUR-TRIMMED    OVERCOAT    AND    A    SILK    HAT 

MRS.  CLIFF  now  began  to  try  very  hard  to  live  as  she 
ought  to  live,  without  pretensions  or  snobbery,  but  in 
a  style  becoming,  in  some  degree,  her  great  fortune. 

There  was  one  thing  she  determined  to  do  imme 
diately,  and  that  was,  to  begin  a  series  of  hospitali 
ties, —  and  it  made  her  feel  proud  to  think  that  she 
could  do  this  and  do  it  handsomely,  and  yet  do  it  in 
the  old  home  where  everybody  knew  she  had  for  years 
been  obliged  to  practise  the  strictest  economy. 

She  gave  a  dinner  to  which  she  invited  her  most 
select  friends.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Perley  were  there,  and 
the  Misses  Thorpedyke,  two  maiden  ladies  who  con 
stituted  the  family  of  the  highest  social  pretension  of 
Plainton.  There  were  other  people  who  were  richer, 
but  Miss  Eleanor  Thorpedyke,  now  a  lady  of  nearly 
seventy,  and  her  sister  Barbara,  some  ten  years  younger, 
belonged  to  the  very  best  family  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  and  were  truly  the  aristocrats  of  the  place. 

But  they  had  always  been  very  friendly  with  Mrs. 
Cliff,  and  they  were  glad  to  come  to  her  dinner.  The 
other  guests  were  all  good  people,  and  a  dinner-party 
of  more  distinction  could  not  have  been  collected  in 
that  town. 

But  this  dinner  did  not  go  off  altogether  smoothly. 
If  the  people  had  come  merely  to  eat,  they  must  have 


A   FUR-TRIMMED   OVERCOAT   AND   A   SILK   HAT      37 

been  abundantly  satisfied,  for  everything  was  of  the 
very  best  and  well  cooked,  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy  hav 
ing  seen  to  that;  but  there  were  certain  roughnesses 
and  hitches  in  the  management  of  the  dinner  which 
disturbed  Mrs.  Cliff.  In  her  travels  and  at  the  hotels 
where  she  had  lived  she  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  good 
service,  and  she  knew  what  it  was. 

Willy,  who,  being  a  relative,  should  really  have  come 
to  the  table,  had  decidedly  declined  to  do  so,  and  had 
taken  upon  herself  the  principal  part  of  the  waiting, 
assisted  by  the  general  servant  and  a  small  girl  who 
had  been  called  in.  But  the  dining-room  was  very 
small,  some  of  the  chairs  were  but  a  little  distance 
from  the  wall,  and  it  was  evident  that  Willy  had  not 
a  true  appreciation  of  the  fact  that  in  recent  years  she 
had  grown  considerably  rounder  and  plumper  than  she 
used  to  be;  and  it  made  Mrs.  Cliff's  blood  run  cold  to 
see  how  she  bumped  the  back  of  Mr.  Perley's  chair, 
as  she  thrust  herself  between  it  and  the  wall. 

The  small  girl  had  to  be  told  almost  everything  that 
she  must  do,  and  the  general  servant,  who  did  not  like 
to  wait  on  table,  only  came  in  when  she  was  called  and 
left  immediately  when  she  had  done  what  she  had  been 
called  for. 

When  the  guests  had  gone,  Mrs.  Cliff  declared  to 
Willy  that  that  was  the  last  large  dinner  she  would 
give  in  that  house.  "It  was  not  a  dinner  which  a 
woman  of  my  means  should  offer  to  her  friends." 
Willy  was  amazed. 

"  I  don't  see  how  it  could  have  been  better,"  said  she, 


38  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"unless  you  had  champagne,  and  I  know  Mr.  Perley 
wouldn't  have  liked  that.  Everything  on  the  table 
was  just  as  good  as  it  could  be." 

But  Mrs.  Cliff  shook  her  head.  She  knew  that  she 
had  attempted  something  for  which  her  present  re 
sources  were  insufficient.  After  this  she  invited  people 
to  dinner  once  or  twice  a  week,  but  the  company  was 
always  very  small  and  suited  to  the  resources  of  the 
house. 

"I  will  go  on  this  way  for  a  while,"  thought  the  good 
lady,  "and  after  a  time  I  will  begin  to  spread  out  and 
do  things  in  a  different  style." 

Several  times  she  drove  over  to  Harrington,  a  large 
town  some  five  miles  away,  which  contained  a  furniture 
factory,  and  there  she  purchased  many  articles  which 
would  be  suitable  for  the  house,  always  securing  the 
best  things  for  her  purposes,  but  frequently  regretting 
that  certain  beautiful  and  imposing  pieces  of  furniture 
were  entirely  unsuited  to  the  capacity  of  her  rooms  and 
hallways.  But  when  her  dining-room  should  be  fin 
ished,  and  the  room  above  it,  she  would  have  better 
opportunity  of  gratifying  her  taste  for  handsome  wood 
in  imposing  designs.  Then  it  might  be  that  Harring 
ton  would  not  be  able  to  give  her  anything  good  enough. 

Her  daily  mail  was  now  much  larger  than  it  ever  had 
been  before.  Business  people  sent  her  cards  and  cir 
culars,  and  every  now  and  then  she  received  letters 
calling  her  attention  to  charities  or  pressing  personal 
needs  of  the  writers,  but  there  were  not  very  many  of 
these;  for  although  it  was  generally  known  that  Mrs. 


A   FUR-TRIMMED   OVERCOAT   AND   A   SILK   HAT      39 

Cliff  had  come  into  a  fortune,  her  manner  of  living 
seemed  also  a  matter  of  public  knowledge.  Even  the 
begging  letters  were  couched  in  very  moderate  terms; 
but  all  these  Mrs.  Cliff  took  to  Mr.  Perley,  and,  by  his 
advice,  she  paid  attention  to  but  very  few  of  them. 

Day  by  day  Mrs.  Cliff  endeavored  to  so  shape  and 
direct  her  fortunes  that  they  might  make  her  happy  in 
the  only  ways  in  which  she  could  be  happy,  but  her 
efforts  to  do  so  did  not  always  gain  for  her  the  approval 
of  her  fellow  townspeople.  There  were  some  who 
thought  that  a  woman  who  professed  to  have  command 
of  money  should  do  a  good  many  things  which  Mrs. 
Cliff  did  not  do,  and  there  were  others  who  did  not 
hesitate  to  assert  that  a  woman  who  lived  as  Mrs.  Cliff 
should  not  do  a  great  many  things  which  she  did  do, 
among  which  things  some  people  included  the  keeping 
of  a  horse  and  carriage.  It  was  conceded,  of  course,  that 
all  this  was  Mrs.  Cliff's  own  business.  She  had  paid  the 
money  she  had  borrowed  to  go  to  South  America;  she 
had  been  very  kind  to  some  of  the  poor  people  of  the 
town,  and  it  was  thought  by  some  had  been  foolishly 
munificent  to  old  Mrs.  Bradley,  who,  from  being  a 
very  poor  person  threatened  with  the  loss  of  her 
home,  was  now  an  independent  householder,  and 
enjoyed  an  annuity  sufficient  to  support  her. 

More  than  that,  Mrs.  Cliff  had  been  very  generous 
in  regard  to  the  church  music.  It  was  not  known 
exactly  how  much  she  had  given  towards  this  object, 
but  there  were  those  who  said  that  she  must  have 
given  her  means  a  considerable  strain  when  she  made 


40  MKS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

her  contribution.  That  is,  if  the  things  were  to  be 
done  which  Mr.  Perley  talked  about. 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  heard  what  had  been  said  upon  this 
subject, —  and  Willy  Croup  was  generally  very  well  able 
to  keep  her  informed  in  regard  to  what  the  people  of 
the  town  said  about  her, —  she  thought  that  the  gossips 
would  have  been  a  good  deal  astonished  if  they  had 
known  how  much  she  had  really  given  to  the  church, 
and  that  they  would  have  been  absolutely  amazed  if 
they  knew  how  much  Mr.  Perley  had  received  for  gen 
eral  charities.  And  then  she  thought,  with  a  tinge  of 
sadness,  how  very  much  surprised  Mr.  Perley  would 
have  been  if  he  had  known  how  much  more  she  was 
able  to  give  away  without  feeling  its  loss. 

Weeks  passed  on,  the  leaves  turned  red  and  yellow 
upon  the  trees,  the  evenings  and  mornings  grew  colder 
and  colder,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  did  everything  she  could 
towards  the  accomplishment  of  what  now  appeared  to 
her  in  the  light  of  a  great  duty  in  her  life,  — the  proper 
expenditure  of  her  income  and  appropriation  of  her 
great  fortune. 

Her  labors  were  not  becoming  more  cheerful.  Day 
after  day  she  said  to  herself  that  she  was  not  doing 
what  she  ought  to  do,  and  that  it  was  full  time  that 
she  should  begin  to  do  something  better,  but  what 
that  better  thing  was  she  could  not  make  up  her 
mind.  Even  the  improvements  she  contemplated  were, 
after  all,  such  mere  trifles. 

It  was  a  very  cold  morning  in  October  when  Mrs. 
Cliff  went  into  her  parlor  and  said  to  Willy  that  there 


A   FUR-TRIMMED   OVERCOAT   AND   A   SILK   HAT      41 

was  one  thing  she  could  do,  —  she  could  have  a  rousing, 
comfortable  fire  without  thinking  whether  wood  was 
five,  ten,  or  twenty  dollars  per  cord.  When  Willy 
found  that  Mrs.  Cliff  wanted  to  make  herself  comfort 
able  before  a  fine  blazing  fire,  she  seemed  in  doubt. 

"I  don't  know  about  the  safety  of  it,"  she  said. 
"That  chimney's  in  a  pretty  bad  condition;  the  masons 
told  us  so  years  ago,  and  nothin'  has  ever  been  done  to 
it!  There  have  been  fires  in  it,  but  they  have  been 
little  ones;  and  if  I  was  you,  I  wouldn't  have  too  large 
a  blaze  in  that  fireplace  until  the  chimney  has  been 
made  all  right !  " 

Mrs.  Cliff  was  annoyed.  "Well  then,  Willy,  I  wish 
you  would  go  for  the  mason  immediately,  and  tell  him 
to  come  here  and  repair  the  chimney.  It's  perfectly 
ridiculous  that  I  can't  have  a  fire  in  my  own  parlor 
when  I  am  able  to  have  a  chimney  as  high  and  as  big 
as  Bunker  Hill  Monument  if  I  wanted  it!" 

Willy  Croup  smiled.  She  did  not  believe  that  Mrs. 
Cliff  really  knew  how  much  such  a  chimney  would  cost, 
but  she  said,  "You  have  got  to  remember,  you  know, 
that  we  can't  have  the  Cuthberts  here  to  dinner  to 
morrow  if  the  masons  come  to  work  at  that  chimney. 
Ten  to  one  they  will  have  to  take  the  most  part  of  it 
down,  and  we  shall  be  in  a  general  mess  here  for  a 
week." 

Mrs.  Cliff  sat  down  with  a  sigh.  "You  need  not 
mind  to  have  the  wood  brought  in,"  she  said;  "just 
give  me  a  few  sticks  and  some  kindling,  so  that  I  can 
give  things  a  little  air  of  cheerfulness." 


42  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

As  she  sat  before  the  gently  blazing  little  fire,  Mrs. 
Cliff  felt  that  things  needed  an  air  of  cheerfulness. 
She  had  that  morning  been  making  calculations,  and, 
notwithstanding  all  she  had  bought,  all  she  had  done, 
and  even  including  with  the  most  generous  margin  all 
she  had  planned  to  do,  her  income  was  gaining  upon 
her  in  a  most  discouraging  way. 

"I  am  not  fit  for  it,"  she  said  to  herself.  "I  don't 
know  how  to  live  as  I  want  to  live,  and  I  won't  live  as 
I  don't  want  to  live.  The  whole  business  is  too  big 
for  me.  I  don't  know  how  to  manage  it.  I  ought  to 
give  up  my  means  to  somebody  who  knows  how  to  use 
them,  and  stay  here  myself  with  just  enough  money  to 
make  me  happy." 

For  the  fortieth  time  she  considered  the  question 
of  laying  all  her  troubles"  before  Mr.  Perley,  but  she 
knew  her  pastor.  The  great  mass  of  her  fortune  would 
quickly  be  swallowed  up  in  some  grand  missionary 
enterprise;  and  this  would  not  suit  Mrs.  Cliff.  No 
matter  how  much  she  was  discouraged,  no  matter  how 
difficult  it  was  to  see  her  way  before  her,  no  matter 
how  great  a  load  she  felt  her  wealth  to  be,  there  was 
always  before  her  a  glimmering  sense  of  grand  possi 
bilities.  What  they  were  she  could  not  now  see  or 
understand,  but  she  would  not  willingly  give  them 
up. 

She  was  an  elderly  woman,  but  she  came  of  a  long- 
lived  family,  all  of  whom  had  lived  in  good  health 
until  the  end  of  their  days,  and  if  there  was  any 
grand,  golden  felicity  which  was  possible  to  her,  she 


THE     GENTLEMAN     RAISED     HIS    HAT     AND     ASKED     IF 
MRS.     CLIFF    LIVED    THERE 


A    FUR-TRIMMED   OVERCOAT   AND   A    SILK   HAT      43 

felt  that  there  was  reason  to  believe  she  would  live 
long  to  enjoy  it  when  she  wanted  it. 

One  morning  as  Mrs.  Cliff  sat  thinking  over  these 
things,  there  was  a  knock  at  the  front  door,  and,  of 
course,  Willy  Croup  ran  to  open  it.  No  matter  where 
she  was,  or  no  matter  what  she  was  doing,  Willy 
always  went  to  the  door  if  she  could,  because  she  had 
so  great  a  desire  to  know  who  was  there. 

This  time  it  was  a  gentleman,  a  very  fine  gentleman, 
with  a  high  silk  hat  and  a  handsome  overcoat  trimmed 
with  fur  —  fur  on  the  collar,  fur  on  the  sleeves,  and 
fur  down  the  front.  Willy  had  never  seen  such  a  coat. 
It  was  October  and  it  was  cool,  but  there  was  no  man 
in  Plainton  who  would  have  worn  such  a  coat  as  that 
so  early  in  the  season  even  if  he  had  one. 

The  gentleman  had  dark  eyes  and  a  very  large  mus 
tache,  and  he  carried  a  cane  and  wore  rather  bright  tan- 
colored  gloves.  All  these  things  Willy  observed  in  an 
instant,  for  she  was  very  quick  in  taking  notice  of 
people's  clothes  and  general  appearance. 

The  gentleman  raised  his  hat  and  asked  if  Mrs.  Cliff 
lived  there.  Now  Willy  thought  he  must  be  an  extraor 
dinary  fine  gentleman,  for  how  should  he  know  that 
she  was  not  a  servant,  and  in  those  parts  gentlemen 
did  not  generally  raise  their  hats  to  girls  who  opened 
front  doors. 

The  gentleman  was  admitted  and  was  ushered  into 
the  parlor,  where  sat  Mrs.  Cliff.  She  was  a  little 
surprised  at  the  sight  of  this  visitor,  who  came  in 
with  his  hat  on,  but  who  took  it  off  and  made  her  a 


44  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

low  bow  as  soon  as  he  saw  her.  But  she  thought 
she  appreciated  the  situation,  and  she  hardened  her 
heart. 

A  strange  man,  so  finely  dressed,  and  with  such 
manners,  must  have  come  for  money,  and  Mrs.  Cliff 
had  already  learned  to  harden  her  heart  towards  stran 
gers  who  solicited.  But  the  hardness  of  her  heart 
utterly  disappeared  in  her  amazement  when  this  gentle 
man,  having  pulled  off  his  right  glove,  advanced  toward 
her,  holding  out  his  hand. 

"You  don't  remember  me,  Mrs.  Cliff?"  he  said  in  a 
loud,  clear  voice.  "No  wonder,  for  I  ara  a  good  deal 
changed,  but  it  is  not  the  same  with  you.  You  are  the 
same  as  ever  —  I  declare  you  are !  " 

Mrs.  Cliff  took  the  proffered  hand,  and  looked  into 
the  face  of  the  speaker.  There  was  something  there 
which  seemed  familiar,  but  she  had  never  known  such 
a  fine  gentleman  as  this.  She  thought  over  the  people 
whom  she  had  seen  in  France  and  in  California,  but  she 
could  not  recollect  this  face. 

"It's  a  mean  thing  to  be  puzzlin'  you,  Mrs.  Cliff," 
said  the  stranger,  with  a  cheery  smile.  "  I'm  George 
Burke,  seaman  on  the  Castor,  where  I  saw  more  of 
you,  Mrs.  Cliff,  than  I've  ever  seen  since;  for  though 
we  have  both  been  a  good  deal  jumbled  up  since,  we 
haven't  been  jumbled  up  together,  so  I  don't  wonder 
if  you  don't  remember  me,  especially  as  I  didn't  wear 
clothes  like  these  on  the  Castor.  Not  by  any  means, 
Mrs.  Cliff! " 

"I  remember  you,"  she  said,  and  she  shook  his  hand 


A  TEMPERANCE  LARK  45 

warmly.  "  I  remember  you,  and  you  had  a  mate  named 
Edward  Shirley." 

"Yes,  indeed!"  said  Mr.  Burke,  "and  he's  all  right, 
and  I'm  all  right,  and  how  are  you?  " 

The  overcoat  with  the  fur  trimmings  came  off,  and, 
with  the  hat,  the  cane,  and  the  gloves,  was  laid  upon 
a  chair,  and  Burke  and  Mrs.  Cliff  sat  down  to  talk  over 
old  times  and  old  friends. 


CHAPTER   VI 

A    TEMPERANCE    LARK 

As  Mrs.  Cliff  sat  and  talked  with  George  Burke,  she 
forgot  the  calculations  she  had  been  making,  she  forgot 
her  perplexities  and  her  anxieties  concerning  the  rapid 
inroads  which  her  income  was  making  upon  her  ability 
to  dispose  of  it,  in  the  recollection  of  the  good-fellow 
ships  which  the  presence  of  her  companion  recalled. 

But  Mr.  Burke  could  give  her  no  recent  news  of  Cap 
tain  Horn  and  Edna,  she  having  heard  from  them  later 
than  he  had;  and  the  only  one  of  the  people  of  the 
Castor  of  whom  he  could  tell  her  was  Edward  Shirley, 
who  had  gone  into  business. 

He  had  bought  a  share  in  a  shipyard,  and,  as  he  was 
a  man  who  had  a  great  idea  about  the  lines  of  a  vessel, 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  he  had  determined  to  put  his 
money  into  that  business.  He  was  a  long-headed  fel 
low,  and  Burke  had  no  doubt  but  that  he  would  soon 


46  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

hear  of  some  fine  craft  coining  from  the  yard  of  his  old 
shipmate. 

"But  how  about  yourself,  Mr.  Burke?  I  want  to 
know  what  has  happened  to  you,  and  what  you  intend 
doing,  and  how  you  chanced  to  be  coming  this  way." 

"Oh,  I  will  tell  you  everything  that  has  happened 
to  me,"  said  Mr.  Burke,  "and  it  won't  take  long;  but 
first  let  me  ask  you  something,  Mrs.  Cliff? "  and  as  he 
spoke  he  quietly  rose  and  shut  the  parlor  door. 

"Now  then,"  said  he,  as  he  seated  himself,  "we 
have  all  been  in  the  same  box,  or,  I  should  say,  in  the 
same  boxes  of  different  kinds,  and  although  I  may  not 
have  the  right  to  call  myself  a  friend,  I  am  just  as 
friendly  to  you  as  if  I  was,  and  feel  as  if  people  who 
have  been  through  what  we  have  ought  to  stand  by  each 
other  even  after  they've  got  through  their  hardest  rubs. 

"Now,  Mrs.  Cliff,  has  anything  happened  to  you? 
Have  you  had  any  set-backs?  I  know  that  this  is  a 
mighty  queer  world,  and  that  even  the  richest  people 
can  often  come  down  with  a  sudden  thump  just  as  if 
they  had  slipped  on  the  ice." 

Mrs.  Cliff  smiled.  "Nothing  has  happened  to  me," 
she  said.  "  I  have  had  no  set-backs,  and  I  am  just  as 
rich  to-day, —  I  should  say  a  great  deal  richer,  than  I 
was  on  the  day  when  Captain  Horn  made  the  division 
of  the  treasure.  But  I  know  very  well  why  you 
thought  something  had  happened  to  me.  You  did  not 
expect  to  find  me  living  in  this  little  house." 

"No,  by  the  Lord  Harry,  I  didn't!"  exclaimed 
Burke,  slapping  his  knee.  "  You  must  excuse  me, 


A   TEMPERANCE   LARK  47 

Mrs.  Cliff,  for  speaking  out  in  that  way,  but  really  I 
never  was  so  much  surprised  as  when  I  came  into  your 
front  yard.  I  thought  I  would  find  you  in  the  finest 
house  in  the  place  until  you  could  have  a  stately  man 
sion  built  somewhere  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  where 
there  would  be  room  enough  for  a  park.  But  when  I 
came  to  this  house,  I  couldn't  help  thinking  that  per 
haps  some  beastly  bank  had  broke,  and  that  your  share 
of  the  golden  business  had  been  swept  away.  Things 
like  that  do  happen  to  women,  you  know,  and  I  suppose 
they  always  will ;  but  I  am  mighty  glad  to  hear  you  are 
all  right! 

"But,  as  you  have  asked  me  to  tell  you  my  story,  I 
will  make  short  work  of  it,  and  then  I  would  like  to 
hear  what  has  happened  to  you,  as  much  as  you  please 
to  tell  me  about  it. 

"Now,  when  I  got  my  money,  Mrs.  Cliff,  which, 
when  compared  to  what  your  share  must  have  been, 
was  like  a  dory  to  a  three-mast  schooner,  but  still 
quite  enough  for  me,  and,  perhaps,  more  than  enough 
if  a  public  vote  could  be  taken  on  the  subject,  I  was 
in  Paris,  a  jolly  place  for  a  rich  sailor,  and  I  said  to 
myself, — 

"'Now,  Mr.  Burke,'  said  I,  for  I  might  as  well  begin 
by  using  good  manners,  'the  general  disposition  of  a 
sea-faring  man  with  a  lot  of  money  is  to  go  on  a  lark, 
or,  perhaps,  a  good  many  larks,  and  so  get  rid  of  it  and 
then  ship  again  before  the  mast  for  fourteen  dollars  per 
month,  or  thereabouts.' 

"But  I  made  up  my  mind  right  there  on  the  spot 


48  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

that  that  sort  of  thing  wouldn't  suit  me.  The  very 
idea  of  shipping  again  on  a  merchant  vessel  made  the 
blood  run  cold  inside  of  me,  and  I  swore  to  myself  that 
I  wouldn't  do  it. 

"To  be  sure,  I  wouldn't  give  up  all  notion  of  a  lark. 
A  sailor  with  money, —  and  I  don't  believe  there  ever 
was  an  able-bodied  seaman  with  more  money  than  I 
had, —  who  doesn't  lark,  at  least  to  some  degree,  has  no 
right  to  call  himself  a  whole-souled  mariner;  so  I  made 
up  my  mind  to  have  one  lark  and  then  stop." 

Mrs.  Cliff's  countenance  clouded.  "I  am  sorry,  Mr. 
Burke,"  said  she,  "that  you  thought  it  necessary  to  do 
that.  I  do  hope  you  didn't  go  on  one  of  those  horrible 
—  sprees,  do  they  call  them?" 

"Oh  no!"  interrupted  Burke,  "I  didn't  do  anything 
of  that  kind.  If  I'd  begun  with  a  bottle,  I'd  have 
ended  with  nothing  but  a  cork,  and  a  badly  burnt  one 
at  that.  No  ma'am!  drinking  isn't  in  my  line.  I 
don't  take  anything  of  that  sort  except  at  meals,  and 
then  only  the  best  wine  in  genteel  quantities.  But  I 
was  bound  to  have  one  lark,  and  then  I  would  stop 
and  begin  to  live  like  a  merchant-tailor,  with  no  family 
nor  poor  relations." 

"But  what  did  you  do?"  asked  Mrs.  Cliff.  "If  it 
was  a  lark  without  liquor,  I  want  to  hear  about  it." 

"It  was  a  temperance  lark,  ma'am,"  said  Burke, 
"and  this  is  what  it  was. 

"Now,  though  I  have  been  to  sea  ever  since  I  was 
a  boy,  I  never  had  command  of  any  kind  of  craft,  and 
it  struck  me  that  I  would  like  to  finish  up  my  life  on 


A  TEMPERANCE   LARK  49 

the  ocean  wave  by  taking  command  of  a  vessel.  It  is 
generally  understood  that  riches  will  give  you  anything 
you  want,  and  I  said  to  myself  that  my  riches  should 
give  me  that.  I  didn't  want  a  sailin'  vessel.  I  was 
tired  of  sailin'  vessels.  I  wanted  a  steamer,  and  when 
I  commanded  a  steamer  for  a  little  while  I  would  stop 
short  and  be  a  landsman  for  the  rest  of  my  life. 

"  So  I  went  up  to  Brest,  where  I  thought  I  might  find 
some  sort  of  steamer  which  might  suit  me,  and  in  that 
harbor  I  did  find  an  English  steamer,  which  had  dis 
charged  her  cargo  and  was  expectin'  to  sail  again  pretty 
much  in  ballast  and  brandy,  so  far  as  I  could  make  out. 
I  went  to  this  vessel  and  I  made  an  offer  to  her  captain 
to  charter  her  for  an  excursion  of  one  week  —  that  was 
all  I  wanted. 

"Well,  I'm  not  going  to  bother  you,  Mrs.  Cliff,  with 
all  that  was  said  and  done  about  this  little  business, 
which  seemed  simple  enough,  but  which  wasn't.  There 
are  people  in  this  world  who  think  that  if  you  have 
money  you  can  buy  anything  you  want,  but  such 
people  might  as  well  get  ready  to  change  their  opinions 
if  they  ever  expect  to  come  into  money." 

"That  is  true,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff;  "every  word  of  it  is 
true,  as  I  have  found  out  for  myself ! " 

"Well,"  continued  Burke,  "there  had  to  be  a  lot  of 
telegraphin'  to  the  owners  in  London  and  a  general  fuss 
with  the  officers  of  the  port  about  papers,  and  all  that, 
but  I  got  the  business  through  all  right;  for  if  money 
won't  get  you  everything,  it's  a  great  help  in  making 
things  slip  along  easy.  And  so  one  fine  afternoon  I 


50  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

found  myself  on  board  that  steamer  as  commander  for 
one  week. 

"  Of  course,  I  didn't  want  to  give  orders  to  the  crew, 
but  I  intended  to  give  my  orders  to  the  captain,  and 
tell  him  what  he  was  to  do  and  what  he  was  not  to  do 
for  one  week.  He  didn't  like  that  very  much,  for  he 
was  inclined  to  bulldogism,  but  I  paid  him  extra  wages, 
and  he  agreed  to  knuckle  under  to  me. 

"  So  I  gave  him  orders  to  sail  out  of  the  harbor  and 
straight  to  the  Island  of  Ushant,  some  twenty-five  miles 
to  the  west  of  northwest. 

'"There's  no  use  going  there,'  said  the  captain, — 
his  name  was  Dork, —  'there's  nothing  on  that  blasted 
bit  of  rock  for  you  to  see.  There's  no  port  I  could  run 
this  steamer  into.' 

"I  had  been  studying  out  my  business  on  the  chart, 
and  this  little  island  just  suited  my  idea,  and  though 
the  name  was  'Ushant,'  I  said  to  him,  'You  shall,'  and 
I  ordered  him  to  sail  to  that  island  and  lay  to  a  mile 
or  two  to  the  westward;  and  as  to  the  landing,  he 
needn't  talk  about  that  until  I  mentioned  it  myself. 

"So  when  we  got  about  a  couple  of  miles  to  the  west 
of  Ushant,  we  lay  to.  Now  I  knew  we  were  on  the 
forty-eighth  parallel  of  latitude,  for  I  had  looked  that 
out  on  the  chart,  so  I  said  to  Captain  Dork, — 

"'Now,  sir!'  says  I,  'I  want  you  to  head  your 
vessel,  sir,  due  west,  and  then  to  steam  straight  ahead 
for  a  hundred  miles,  keepin'  your  vessel  just  as  near  as 
you  can  on  that  line  of  latitude." 

"I  see!"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  very  much  interested.     "If 


A  TEMPERANCE   LARK  51 

he  once  got  on  that  line  of  latitude  and  kept  sailing 
west  without  turning  one  way  or  the  other,  he  would 
be  bound  to  keep  on  it." 

"That's  exactly  it!  "  said  Mr.  Burke.  "  'Twas  pretty 
near  midnight  when  we  started  off  to  run  along  the 
forty-eighth  parallel,  but  I  kept  nay  eyes  on  the  man 
at  the  wheel  and  on  the  compass,  and  I  let  them  know 
that  that  ship  was  under  the  command  of  an  able-bodied 
seaman  who  knew  what  he  was  about,  and  if  they 
skipped  to  one  side  of  that  line  or  to  the  other  he 
would  find  it  out  in  no  time. 

"I  went  below  once  to  take  a  nap,  but,  as  I  prom 
ised  the  fellow  at  the  wheel  ten  shillings  if  he  would 
keep  her  head  due  west,  and  told  him  he  would  be  sure 
to  wake  me  up  if  he  didn't,  I  felt  certain  we  wouldn't 
skip  the  line  of  latitude. 

"Well,  that  steamer,  which  was  called  the  Duke  of 
Dorchester,  and  which  was  a  vessel  of  not  more  than  a 
thousand  tons,  wasn't  much  of  a  sailer,  or  perhaps  they 
was  saving  coal,  I  don't  know  which,  and,  not  knowing 
how  much  coal  ought  to  be  used,  I  kept  my  mouth  shut 
on  that  point ;  but  I  had  the  log  thrown  a  good  deal,  and 
I  found  that  we  never  quite  came  up  to  ten  knots  an 
hour,  and  when  we  took  an  observation  at  noon  the 
next  day,  we  saw  that  we  hadn't  quite  done  the  hun 
dred  miles;  but  a  little  before  one  o'clock  we  did  it, 
and  then  I  ordered  the  captain  to  stop  the  engine  and 
lay  to. 

"  There  was  a  brig  about  a  mile  away,  and  when  she 
saw  us  layin'  to,  she  put  about  and  made  for  us,  and 


52  MBS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

when  she  was  near  enough  she  hailed  to  know  if  any 
thing  was  the  matter.  She  was  a  French  brig,  but 
Captain  Dork  understood  her,  and  I  told  him  to  bid 
her  'Good  morning,'  and  to  tell  her  that  nothin'  was 
the  matter,  but  that  we  were  just  stoppin'  to  rest.  I 
don't  know  what  he  did  tell  her,  but  she  put  about  her 
helm  and  was  off  again  on  her  own  business. 

"'Now,'  said  I  to  Captain  Dork,  'I  want  you  to  back 
this  steamer  due  east  to  the  Island  of  Ushant.' 

"  He  looked  at  me  and  began  to  swear.  He  took  me 
for  a  maniac, — a  wild,  crazy  man,  and  told  me  the  best 
thing  I  could  do  would  be  to  go  below  and  turn  in,  and 
he  would  take  me  back  to  my  friends,  if  I  had  any. 

"I  didn't  want  to  tell  him  what  I  was  up  to,  but  I 
found  I  had  to,  and  so  I  explained  to  him  that  I  was 
a  rich  sailor  takin'  a  lark,  and  the  lark  I  wanted  to  take 
was,  to  sail  on  a  parallel  of  latitude  a  hundred  miles  in 
a  steamer,  and  then  to  back  that  steamer  along  that 
same  parallel  to  the  place  where  she  started  from.  I 
didn't  believe  that  there  was  ever  a  ship  in  the  world 
that  had  done  that,  and  bein'  on  a  lark,  I  wanted  to  do 
it,  and  was  will  in'  to  pay  for  it;  and  if  his  engineers 
and  his  crew  grumbled  about  backing  the  steamer  for 
a  hundred  miles,  he  could  explain  to  them  how  the 
matter  stood,  and  tell  them  that  bein'  on  a  lark  I  was 
will  in'  to  pay  for  all  extra  trouble  I  might  put  them 
to,  and  for  any  disturbances  in  their  minds  which  might 
rise  from  sailin'  a  vessel  in  a  way  which  didn't  seem  to 
be  accordin'  to  the  ordinary  rules  of  navigation. 

"Now,  when  Captain  Dork  knew  that  I  was  a  rich 


A  TEMPERANCE   LARK  53 

sailor  on  a  lark,  he  understood  me,  and  he  made  no  more 
objections,  though  he  said  he  wouldn't  have  spent  his 
money  in  that  way;  and  when  he  told  his  crew  and 
his  engineers  and  men  about  the  extra  pay,  they  under 
stood  the  matter,  and  they  agreed  to  back  her  along  the 
forty-eighth  parallel  just  as  nigh  as  they  could  until 
they  lay  to  two  miles  west  of  Ushant. 

"So  back  we  went,  and  they  kept  her  due  east  just 
as  nigh  as  they  could,  and  they  seemed  to  take  an 
interest  in  it,  as  if  all  of  them  wanted  me  to  have  as 
good  a  lark  as  I  could  for  my  money,  and  we  didn't 
skip  that  parallel  very  much,  although  it  wasn't  an 
easy  job,  I  can  tell  you,  to  keep  her  head  due  west 
and  her  stern  due  east,  and  steam  backwards.  They 
had  to  rig  up  the  compass  abaft  the  wheel,  and  do  some 
other  things  that  you  wouldn't  understand,  madam,  such 
as  running  a  spar  out  to  stern  to  take  sight  by." 

"I  declare,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "that  sort  of  sailing 
must  have  astonished  any  ship  that  saw  it.  Did  you 
meet  any  other  vessels?" 

"  Oh  yes, "  said  Burke.  "  After  daybreak  we  fell  in 
with  a  good  many  sail  and  some  steamers,  and  most  of 
them  ran  close  and  hailed  us,  but  there  wasn't  any 
answer  to  give  them,  except  that  we  were  returning 
to  port  and  didn't  want  no  help ;  but  some  of  the  skip 
pers  of  the  smaller  crafts  were  so  full  of  curiosity  that 
they  stuck  to  us,  and  when  we  arrived  off  Ushant, 
which  wasn't  until  nearly  dark  the  next  day,  the  Duke 
of  Dorchester  had  a  convoy  of  five  sloops,  two  schooners, 
a  brig,  eight  pilot  boats,  and  four  tugs." 


54  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

Although  Mr.  liurke  had  said  that  he  was  going  to 
make  very  short  work  with  his  story,  It  had  already 
occupied  a  good  deal  of  time,  and  he  was  not  half 
through  with  it;  but  Mrs.  Cliff  listened  with  the  great 
est  interest,  and  the  rich  sailor  went  on  with  his  recital 
of  adventures. 

"Now,  when  I  had  finished  scoring  that  forty-eighth 
parallel  backward  and  forward  for  a  hundred  miles,  I 
took  out  my  purse  and  I  paid  that  captain  and  all  the 
crew  what  I  promised  to  give  them,  and  then  we 
steamed  back  to  Brest,  where  I  told  him  to  drop 
anchor  and  make  himself  comfortable. 

"  I  stayed  on  board  for  a  day  and  a  night  just  to  get 
my  fill  feeling  I  was  in  command  of  a  steamer,  before  I 
gave  up  a  sea-faring  life  forever.  I  threw  up  the  rest 
of  the  week  that  I  was  entitled  to  and  went  ashore,  and 
my  lark  was  over. 

"  I  went  to  England  and  took  passage  for  home,  and 
I  had  a  first-class  stateroom,  and  laid  in  a  lot  of  good 
clothes  before  I  started.  I  don't  think  I  ever  had 
greater  comfort  in  my  life  than  sittin'  on  deck, 
smokin'  a  good  cigar,  and  watchin'  the  able-bodied 
seamen  at  their  work. 

"I  hope  I'm  not  tiring  you,  madam,  but  I'm  trying 
to  cut  things  as  short  as  I  can.  It's  often  said  that 
a  sailor  is  all  at  sea  when  he  is  on  shore,  but  I  was  a 
country  fellow  before  I  was  a  sailor,  and  land  doings 
come  naturally  to  me  when  I  fix  my  mind  on  them. 

"I'd  made  up  my  mind  I  was  going  to  build  my 
mother  a  house  on  Cape  Cod,  but  when  I  got  home  I 


A   TEMPERANCE   LARK  55 

thought  it  better  to  buy  her  one  already  built,  and 
that's  what  I  did,  and  I  stayed  there  with  her  a  little 
while,  but  I  didn't  like  it.  I'd  had  a  notion  of  having 
another  house  near  my  mother's,  but  I  gave  up  that. 
There's  too  much  sea  about  Cape  Cod. 

"Now,  she  liked  it,  for  she's  a  regular  sailor's 
mother,  but  I  couldn't  feel  that  I  was  really  a  rich 
fellow  livin'  ashore  until  I  got  out  of  hearin'  of  the 
ocean,  and  out  of  smellin'  of  salt  and  tar,  so  I  made 
up  my  mind  that  I'd  go  inland  and  settle  somewhere 
on  a  place  of  my  own,  where  I  might  have  command 
of  some  sort  of  farm. 

"I  didn't  know  just  exactly  what  I  wanted,  nor  just 
exactly  where  I  wanted  to  go,  so  I  thought  it  best  to 
look  around  a  little  and  hold  council  with  somebody  or 
other.  I  couldn't  hold  council  with  my  mother,  because 
she  wanted  me  to  buy  a  ship  and  take  command  of  her. 
And  then  I  thought  of  Captain  Horn,  and  goin'  to  ask 
him.  But  the  captain  is  a  great  man  — " 

"Indeed  he  is!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Cliff.  "We  all 
know  that!" 

"But  he  is  off  on  his  own  business,"  continued  Burke, 
"and  what  sort  of  a  princely  concern  he's  got  on  hand 
I  don't  know.  Anyway,  he  wouldn't  want  me  followin' 
him  about  and  botherin'  him,  and  so  I  thought  of  every 
body  I  could,  and  at  last  it  struck  me  that  there  wasn't 
anybody  better  than  you,  Mrs.  Cliff,  to  give  me  the 
points  I  wanted,  for  I  always  liked  you,  Mrs.  Cliff,  and 
I  consider  you  a  woman  of  good  sense  down  to  the  keel. 
And,  as  I  heard  you  were  livin'  in  sort  of  a  country 


56  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

place,  I  thought  you'd  be  the  very  person  that  I  could 
come  and  talk  to  and  get  points. 

"I  felt  a  hankerin',  anyway,  after  some  of  the  old 
people  of  the  Castor;  for,  after  having  had  all  that 
money  divided  among  us,  it  made  me  feel  as  if  we 
belonged  to  the  same  family.  I  suppose  that  was  one 
reason  why  I  felt  a  sort  of  drawing  to  you,  you  know. 
Anyway,  I  knew  where  you  lived,  and  I  came  right 
here,  and  arrived  this  morning.  After  I'd  taken  a 
room  at  the  hotel,  I  asked  for  your  house  and  came 
straight  here." 

"And  very  glad  am  I  to  see  you,  Mr.  Burke!"  said 
Mrs.  Cliff,  speaking  honestly  from  the  bottom  of  her 
heart. 

She  had  not  known  Burke  very  well,  but  she  had 
always  looked  upon  him  as  a  fine,  manly  sailor;  and 
now  that  he  had  come  to  her,  she  was  conscious  of  the 
family  feeling  which  he  had  spoken  of,  and  she  was 
very  glad  to  see  him. 

She  saw  that  Burke  was  very  anxious  to  know  why 
she  was  living  in  a  plain  fashion  in  this  unpretentious 
house,  but  she  found  it  would  be  very  difficult  to 
explain  the  matter  to  him.  Hers  was  not  a  straight 
forward  tale,  which  she  could  simply  sit  and  tell,  and, 
moreover,  although  she  liked  Burke  and  thought  it 
probable  that  lie  was  a  man  of  a  very  good  heart,  she 
did  not  believe  that  he  was  capable  of  advising  her  in 
the  perplexities  which  her  wealth  had  thrown  about  her. 

Still,  she  talked  to  him  and  told  him  what  she 
thought  she  could  make  him  properly  understand,  and 


A   TEMPERANCE  LARK  57 

so,  from  one  point  to  another,  she  went  on  until  she 
had  given  the  ex-sailor  a  very  good  idea  of  the  state 
of  her  mind  in  regard  to  what  she  was  doing,  and  what 
she  thought  she  ought  to  do. 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  had  finished  speaking,  Burke  thrust 
his  hands  into  his  pockets,  leaned  back  in  his  chair,  and 
looked  at  the  ceiling  of  the  room,  the  walls,  and  the 
floor.  He  wanted  to  say  something,  but  he  was  not 
prepared  to  do  so.  His  mind,  still  nautical,  desired  to 
take  an  observation  and  determine  the  latitude  and 
longitude  of  Mrs.  Cliff,  but  the  skies  were  very  much 
overcast. 

At  this  moment  Willy  Croup  knocked  at  the  parlor 
door,  and  when  Mrs.  Cliff  went  to  her,  she  asked  if  the 
gentleman  was  going  to  stay  to  dinner. 

Mrs.  Cliff  was  surprised.  She  had  no  idea  it  was  so 
late,  but  she  went  back  to  Mr.  Burke  and  urged  him  to 
stay  to  dinner.  He  consented  instantly,  declaring  that 
this  was  the  first  time  that  anybody,  not  his  mother, 
had  asked  him  to  dinner  since  he  came  into  his  fortune. 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  had  excused  herself  to  give  some 
directions  about  the  meal,  Burke  walked  about  the 
parlor,  carefully  examining  everything  in  it.  When 
he  had  finished  his  survey,  he  sat  down  and  shook  his 
head. 

"The  trouble  with  her  is,"  he  said  to  himself,  "that 
she's  so  dreadfully  afraid  of  running  ashore  that  she 
will  never  reach  any  port,  that's  what's  the  matter!  " 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  returned,  she  asked  her  visitor  if  he 
would  like  to  see  her  house,  and  she  showed  him  over  it 


58  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

with  great  satisfaction,  for  she  had  filled  every  room 
with  all  the  handsome  and  appropriate  things  she  could 
get  into  it.  Burke  noticed  everything,  and  spoke  with 
approbation  of  many  things,  but  as  he  walked  behind 
his  hostess,  he  kept  shaking  his  head. 

He  went  down  to  dinner,  and  was  introduced  to  Willy 
Croup,  who  had  been  ordered  to  go  and  dress  herself 
that  she  might  appear  at  the  meal.  He  shook  hands 
with  her  very  cordially,  and  then  looked  all  around  the 
little  dining-room,  taking  in  every  feature  of  its  fur 
nishing  and  adornment.  When  he  had  finished,  he 
would  have  been  glad  to  shake  his  head  again,  but 
this  would  have  been  observed. 

When  the  dinner  came  on,  however,  Mr.  Burke  had 
no  desire  to  shake  his  head.  It  was  what  might  have 
been  called  a  family  dinner,  but  there  was  such  a 
variety,  such  an  abundance,  everything  was  so  admi 
rably  cooked,  and  the  elderberry  wine,  which  was  pro 
duced  in  his  honor,  was  so  much  more  rich  and  fragrant 
to  his  taste  than  the  wines  he  had  had  at  hotels,  that 
Mr.  Burke  was  delighted. 

Now  he  felt  that  in  forming  an  opinion  as  to  Mrs. 
Cliff's  manner  of  living  he  had  some  grounds  to  stand 
upon.  "What  she  wants,"  thought  he,  "is  all  the 
solid,  sensible  comfort  her  money  can  give  her,  and 
where  she  knows  what  she  wants,  she  gets  it;  but  the 
trouble  seems  to  be  that  in  most  things  she  doesn't 
know  what  she  wants !  " 

When  Mr.  Burke  that  afternoon  walked  back  to  the 
hotel,  wrapped  in  his  fur-trimmed  coat  and  carefully 


MR.   BURKE   ACCEPTS    A    RESPONSIBILITY          59 

puffing  a  fine  Havana  cigar,  he  had  entirely  forgotten 
his  own  plans  and  purposes  in  life,  and  was  engrossed 
in  those  of  Mrs.  Cliff. 


CHAPTEE  VII 

MB.    BURKE    ACCEPTS    A    RESPONSIBILITY 

WILLY  CROUP  was  very  much  pleased  with  Mr. 
Burke,  and  she  was  glad  that  she  had  allowed  herself 
to  be  persuaded  to  sit  at  table  with  such  a  fine  gentle 
man. 

He  treated  her  with  extreme  graciousness  of  manner, 
and  it  was  quite  plain  to  her  that  if  he  recognized  her 
in  her  silk  goAvn  as  the  person  who,  in  a  calico  dress, 
had  'opened  the  front  door  for  him,  he  had  determined 
to  make  her  feel  that  he  had  not  noticed  the  coinci 
dence. 

He  was  a  good  deal  younger  than  she  was,  but 
Willy's  childlike  disposition  had  projected  itself  into 
her  maturer  years,  and  in  some  respects  there  was  a 
greater  sympathy,  quickly  perceived  by  both,  between 
her  and  Mr.  Burke  than  yet  existed  between  him  and 
Mrs.  Cliff.  After  some  of  the  amusing  anecdotes  which 
he  told,  the  visitor  looked  first  towards  Willy  to  see 
how  she  appreciated  them;  but  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  he  was  not  extremely  attentive  and  deferential  to 
his  hostess. 

If  Willy  had  known  what  a  brave,  gallant,  and  dar- 


60  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

ing  sailor  he  was,  she  would  have  made  a  hero  of  him; 
but  Mrs.  Cliff  had  never  said  much  about  Burke,  and 
Willy  simply  admired  him  as  the  best  specimen  of  the 
urbane  man  of  the  world  with  whom  she  had  yet  met. 

The  two  women  talked  a  good  deal  about  their  visitor 
that  evening,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  said  that  she  hoped  he  was 
not  going  to  leave  town  very  soon,  for  it  was  possible 
that  she  might  be  of  help  to  him  if  he  wanted  to  settle 
down  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

The  next  morning,  soon  after  breakfast,  when  Willy 
opened  the  front  gate  of  the  yard  and  stepped  out  upon 
the  street  with  a  small  covered  basket  in  her  hand,  she 
had  gone  but  a  very  little  distance  when  she  met  Mr. 
Burke,  with  his  furs,  his  cane,  and  his  silk  hat.  The 
latter  was  lifted  very  high  as  its  owner  saluted  Miss 
Croup. 

Willy,  who  was  of  a  fair  complexion,  reddened  some 
what  as  she  shook  hands  with  the  gentleman,  informed 
him,  in  answer  to  his  questions,  that  Mrs.  Cliff  was  very 
well,  that  she  was  very  well;  that  the  former  was  at 
home  and  would  be  glad  to  see  him,  and  that  she  herself 
was  going  into  the  business  part  of  the  town  to  make 
some  little  purchases. 

She  would  have  been. better  pleased  if  she  had  not 
been  obliged  to  tell  him  where  she  was  going,  but  she 
could  not  do  otherwise  when  he  said  he  supposed  she 
was  walking  for  the  benefit  of  the  fresh  morning  air. 
He  added  to  her  discomfiture  by  requesting  to  be  al 
lowed  to  walk  with  her,  and  by  offering  to  carry  her  bas 
ket.  This  threw  Willy's  mind  into  a  good  deal  of  a 


MR.   BU11KE   ACCEPTS   A   RESPONSIBILITY         61 

flutter.  Why  could  she  not  have  met  this  handsomely 
dressed  gentleman  sometime  when  she  was  not  going 
to  the  grocery  store  to  buy  such  things  as  stove-blacking 
and  borax  ? 

It  seemed  to  her  as  if  these  commodities  must  suggest 
to  the  mind  of  any  one  rusty  iron  and  obtrusive  insects, 
and  as  articles  altogether  outside  the  pale  of  allusion  in 
high-toned  social  intercourse. 

It  also  struck  her  as  a  little  odd  that  a  gentleman 
should  propose  to  accompany  a  lady  when  she  was  going 
on  domestic  errands ;  but  then  this  gentleman  was  dif 
ferent  from  any  she  had  known,  and  there  were  many 
ways  of  the  world  with  which  she  was  not  at  all  ac 
quainted. 

Mr.  Burke  immediately  began  to  speak  of  the  visit  of 
the  day  before.  He  had  enjoyed  seeing  Mrs.  Cliff  again 
and  he  had  never  sat  down  to  a  better  dinner. 

"Yes,"  said  Willy,  "she  likes  good  eatin',  and  she 
knows  what  it  is,  and  if  she  had  a  bigger  dining-room 
she  would  often  invite  people  to  dinner,  and  I  expect  the 
house  would  be  quite  lively,  as  she  seems  more  given  to 
company  than  she  used  to  be,  and  that's  all  right,  con- 
siderin'  she's  better  able  to  afford  it." 

Mr.  Burke  took  a  deep  satisfied  breath.  The  oppor 
tunity  had  already  come  to  him  to  speak  his  mind. 

"  Afford  it ! "  said  he.  "  I  should  think  so !  Mrs.  Cliff 
must  be  very  rich.  She  is  worth,  I  should  say  —  well,  I 
don't  know  what  to  say,  not  knowing  exactly  and  pre 
cisely  what  each  person  got  when  the  grand  division  was 
made." 


62  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

Willy's  loyalty  to  Mrs.  Cliff  prompted  her  to  put  her 
iu  as  good  a  light  as  possible  before  this  man  of  the 
world,  and  her  own  self-esteem  prompted  her  to  show 
that,  being  a  friend  and  relative  of  this  rich  lady,  she 
was  not  ignorant  of  her  affairs  in  life. 

"  Oh,  she's  rich ! "  said  Willy.  "  I  can't  say,  of  course, 
just  how  much  she  has,  but  I'm  quite  sure  that  she  owns 
at  least—" 

Willy  wished  to  put  the  amount  of  the  fortune  at  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  but  she  was  a  little  afraid 
that  this  might  be  too  much,  and  yet  she  did  not  wish  to 
make  the  amount  any  smaller  than  could  possibly  be 
helped.  So  she  thought  of  seventy-five,  and  then  eighty, 
and  finally  remarked  that  Mrs.  Cliff  must  be  worth  at 
least  ninety  thousand  dollars.  Mr.  Burke  looked  up  at 
the  sky  and  wanted  to  whistle. 

"Ninety  thousand  dollars!"  he  said  to  himself.  "I 
know  positively  that  it  was  at  least  four  millions  at  the 
time  of  the  division,  and  she  says  she's  richer  now  than 
she  was  then,  which  is  easy  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
interest  coming  in.  1  see  her  game !  She  wants  to  keep 
shady  about  her  big  fortune  because  her  neighbors  would 
expect  her  to  live  up  to  it,  and  she  knows  it  isn't  in  her 
to  live  up  to  it.  Now,  I'm  beginning  to  see  through  the 
fog."  "  It  seems  to  me,"  said  he,  "  that  Mrs.  Cliff  ought 
to  have  a  bigger  dining-room." 

This  remark  pulled  up  the  flood-gate  to  Willy's  ac 
cumulated  sentiments  on  the  subject,  and  they  poured 
forth  in  a  rushing  stream. 

Yes,  indeed,  Mrs.  Cliff  ought  to  have  a  bigger  dining- 


MR.   BURKE   ACCEPTS   A   RESPONSIBILITY         63 

room,  and  other  rooms  to  the  house,  and  there  was  the 
front  fence,  and  no  end  of  things  she  ought  to  have,  and 
it  was  soon  made  clear  to  Mr.  Burke  that  Willy  had 
been  lying  awake  at  night  thinking,  and  thinking,  and 
thinking  about  what  Mrs.  Cliff  ought  to  have  and  what 
she  did  not  have.  She  said  she  really  and  honestly 
believed  that  there  was  no  reason  at  all  why  she  did 
not  have  them,  except  that  she  did  not  want  to  seem  to 
be  setting  herself  up  above  her  neighbors.  In  fact,  Mrs. 
Cliff  had  told  Willy  two  or  three  times,  when  there  had 
been  a  discussion  about  prices,  that  she  was  able  to  do 
anything  she  wanted,  and  if  she  could  do  that,  why  did 
she  not  do  it  ?  People  were  all  talking  about  it,  and  they 
had  talked  and  talked  her  fortune  down  until  in  some 
families  it  was  not  any  more  than  ten  thousand  dollars. 

On  and  on  talked  Willy,  while  Mr.  Burke  said 
scarcely  a  word,  but  he  listened  with  the  greatest  atten 
tion.  They  had  now  walked  on  until  they  had  reached 
the  main  street  of  the  little  town,  gone  through  the  busi 
ness  part  where  the  shops  were,  and  out  into  the  sub 
urbs.  Suddenly  Willy  stopped. 

"Oh  dear!"  she  exclaimed,  "I've  gone  too  far!  I 
was  so  interested  in  talking,  that  I  didn't  think." 

"  I'm  sorry,"  said  Mr.  Burke,  "  that  I've  taken  you  out 
of  your  way.  Can't  I  get  you  what  you  want  and  save 
you  the  trouble  ?  " 

Now  Willy  was  in  another  flutter.  After  the  walk 
with  the  fur-trimmed  coat,  and  the  talk  about  dollars 
by  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  she  could  not 
come  down  to  mention  borax  and  blacking. 


64  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"  Oh  no,  thaiik  you ! "  said  she,  trying  her  best  to 
think  of  some  other  errand  than  the  one  she  had  come 
upon.  "  I  don't  believe  it's  finished  yet,  and  it's  hardly 
worth  while  to  stop.  There  was  one  of  those  big  cushion 
covers  that  she  brought  from  Paris,  that  was  to  be  tilled 
with  down,  but  I  don't  believe  it's  ready  yet,  and  I 
needn't  stop." 

Mr.  Burke  could  not  but  think  it  a  little  odd  that 
such  a  small  basket  should  be  brought  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  home  a  large  down  cushion,  but  he  said 
nothing  further  on  the  subject.  He  had  had  a  most 
gratifying  conversation  with  this  communicative  and 
agreeable  person,  and  his  interest  in  Mrs.  Cliff  was 
greatly  increased. 

When  he  neared  the  hotel,  he  took  leave  of  his  com 
panion,  saying  that  he  would  call  in  the  afternoon; 
and  Willy,  after  she  had  looked  back  and  was  sure  he 
was  out  of  sight,  slipped  into  the  grocery  store  and 
got  her  borax  and  blacking. 

Mr.  Burke  called  on  Mrs.  Cliff  that  afternoon,  and 
the  next  morning,  and  two  or  three  times  the  day  after. 
They  came  to  be  very  much  interested  in  each  other,  and 
Burke  in  his  mind  compared  this  elderly  friend  with  his 
mother,  and  not  to  the  advantage  of  the  latter.  Burke's 
mother  was  a  woman  who  would  always  have  her  own 
way,  and  wanted  advice  and  counsel  from  no  one,  but 
Mrs.  Cliff  was  a  very  different  woman. 

She  was  so  willing  to  listen  to  what  Burke  said  —  and 
his  remarks  were  nearly  always  on  the  subject  of  the 
proper  expenditure  of  money — and  appeared  to  attach 


MR.    BUiiKE   ACCEPTS    A   RESPONSIBILITY         65 

so  much  importance  to  his  opinions,  that  he  began  to 
feel  that  a  certain  responsibility,  not  at  all  an  unpleasant 
one,  was  forcing  itself  upon  him. 

He  did  not  think  that  he  should  try  to  constitute 
himself  her  director,  or  even  to  assume  the  position  of 
professional  suggester,  but  in  an  amateur  way  he  sug 
gested,  and  she,  without  any  idea  of  depending  upon 
him  for  suggestions,  found  herself  more  and  more  in 
clined  to  accept  them  as  he  continued  to  offer  them. 

She  soon  discovered  that  he  was  the  only  person  in 
Plainton  who  knew  her  real  fortune,  and  this  was  a 
bond  of  sympathy  and  union  between  them,  and  she 
became  aware  that  she  had  succeeded  in  impressing 
him  with  her  desire  to  live  upon  her  fortune  in  such 
a  manner  that  it  would  not  interfere  with  her  friend 
ships  or  associations,  and  her  life-long  ideas  of  comfort 
and  pleasure. 

The  people  of  the  town  talked  a  great  deal  about  the 
fine  gentleman  at  the  hotel,  but  they  knew  he  was  one 
of  the  people  who  had  become  rich  in  consequence  of 
Captain  Horn's  discovery;  and  some  of  them,  good 
friends  of  Mrs.  Cliff,  felt  sorry  that  she  had  not 
profited  to  as  great  a  degree  by  that  division  as  this 
gentleman  of  opulent  taste,  who  occupied  two  of  the 
best  rooms  in  the  hotel,  and  obliged  Mr.  Williams  to 
send  to  Harrington,  and  even  to  Boston,  for  provisions 
suitable  to  his  epicurean  tastes,  and  who  drove  around 
the  country  with  a  carriage  and  pair  at  least  once  a 
day. 

When  Burke  was  ready  to  make  his  suggestions,  he 


66  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

thought  he  would  begin  in  a  mild  fashion,  and  see  how 
Mrs.  Cliff  would  take  them. 

"  If  I  was  in  your  place,  madam,"  said  he,  "  the  first 
thing  I  would  do  would  be  to  have  a  lot  of  servants. 
There's  nothin'  money  can  give  a  person  that's  better 
than  plenty  of  people  to  do  things.  Lots  of  them  on 
hand  all  the  time,  like  the  crew  of  a  ship." 

"  But  I  couldn't  do  that,  Mr.  Burke,"  said  she ;  « my 
house  is  too  small.  I  haven't  any  place  for  servants 
to  sleep.  When  I  enlarge  my  house,  of  course,  I  may 
have  more  servants." 

"  Oh,  I  wouldn't  wait  for  that,"  said  he ;  "  until  then 
you  could  board  them  at  the  hotel." 

This  suggestion  was  strongly  backed  by  Willy  Croup, 
and  Mrs.  Cliff  took  the  matter  to  heart.  She  collected 
together  a  domestic  establishment  of  as  many  servants 
as  she  thought  her  establishment  could  possibly  pro 
vide  with  work,  and,  although  she  did  not  send  them 
to  be  guesls  at  the  hotel,  she  obtained  lodging  for  them 
at  the  house  of  a  poor  woman  in  the  neighborhood. 

When  she  had  done  this,  she  felt  that  she  had  made  a 
step  in  the  direction  of  doing  her  duty  by  her  money. 

Mr.  Burke  made  another  suggestion.  "  If  I  was  you," 
said  he,  "I  wouldn't  wait  for  times  or  seasons,  for  in 
these  days  people  build  in  winter  the  same  as  in  summer. 
I  would  put  up  that  addition  just  as  soon  as  it  could  be 
done." 

Mrs.  Cliff  sighed.  "I  suppose  that's  what  I  should 
do,"  said  she.  "  I  feel  that  it  is,  but  you  know  how  I 
hate  to  begin  it." 


MR.   BURKE   ACCEPTS   A   RESPONSIBILITY          67 

"  But  you  needn't  hate  it,"  said  he.  "  There  isn't  the 
least  reason  in  the  world  for  any  objection  to  it.  I've 
_a  plan  which  will  make  it  all  clear  sailin'.  I've  been 
thinkin'  it  out,  and  this  is  the  way  I've  thought  it." 
Mrs.  Cliff  listened  with  great  attention. 

"  Now  then,"  said  Burke,  "  next  to  you  on  the  west  is 
your  own  lot  that  you're  going  to  put  your  new  dining- 
room  on.  Am  I  right  there  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "  you  are  right  there." 

"  Well,  next  to  that  is  the  little  house  inhabited  by  a 
family  named  Barnard,  I'm  told,  and  next  to  that  there's 
a  large  corner  lot  with  an  old  house  on  it  that's  for  sale. 
Now  then,  if  I  was  you,  I'd  buy  that  corner  lot  and  clear 
away  the  old  house,  and  I'd  build  my  dining-room  right 
there.  I'd  get  a  good  architect  and  let  him  plan  you  a 
first-class,  A  number  one,  dining-room,  with  other  rooms 
to  it,  above  it  and  below  it,  and  around  it;  with  porticos, 
and  piazzas,  and  little  balconies  to  the  second  story,  and 
everything  that  anybody  might  want  attached  to  a  first- 
class  dining-room." 

Mrs.  Cliff  laughed.  "But  what  good  would  it  be  to 
me  away  up  there  at  the  corner  of  the  next  street  ?  " 

"  The  reason  for  putting  it  there,"  said  Burke,  "  is  to 
get  clear  of  all  the  noise  and  dirt  of  building,  and  the 
fuss  and  bother  that  you  dislike  so  much.  And  then 
when  it  was  all  finished,  and  painted,  and  papered,  and 
the  carpets  down,  if  you  like,  I'd  have  it  moved  right  up 
here  against  your  house  just  where  you  want  it.  When 
everything  was  in  order,  and  you  was  ready,  you  could 
cut  a  door  right  through  into  the  new  dining-room,  and 


68  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

there  you'd  be.  They've  got  so  in  the  way  of  slidin' 
buildings  along  on  timbers  now  that  they  can  travel 
about  almost  like  the  old  stage  coaches,  and  you  needn't 
have  your  cellar  dug  until  you're  ready  to  clap  your  new 
dining-room  right  over  it." 

Mrs.  Cliff  smiled,  and  Willy  listened  with  open  eyes. 
"  But  how  about  the  Barnard  family  and  their  house  ?  " 
said  she. 

"Oh,  I'd  buy  them  a  lot  somewhere  else,"  said  he, 
"and  move  their  house.  They  wouldn't  object  if  you 
paid  them  extra.  What  I'd  have  if  I  was  in  your  place, 
Mrs.  Cliff,  would  be  a  clear  lot  down  to  the  next  street, 
and  I'd  have  a  garden  in  it  with  flowers,  and  gravel 
walks,  and  greenhouses,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing." 

"  All  stretching  itself  out  in  the  sunshine  under  the 
new  dining-room  windows ! "  cried  Willy  Croup,  with 
sparkling  eyes. 

Mrs.  Cliff  sat  and  considered,  a  cheerful  glow  in  her 
veins.  Here,  really,  was  an  opportunity  of  stemming 
the  current  of  her  income  without  shocking  any  of  her 
social  instincts ! 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Mi:    BURKE  BEGINS    TO   MAKE  THINGS   MOVE    IN    PLAINTON 

IT  was  not  long  before  Mr.  Burke  began  to  be  a  very 
important  personage  in  Plainton.  It  was  generally 
known  that  he  intended  to  buy  land  and  settle  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  as  he  was  a  rich  man,  evidently  in- 


MR.   BURKE   BEGINS   TO   MAKE   THINGS   MOVE      69 

dined  to  be  liberal  in  his  expenditures,  this  was  a  mat 
ter  of  great  interest  both  in  social  and  business  circles. 

He  often  drove  out  to  survey  the  surrounding  country, 
but  when  he  was  perceived  several  times  standing  in  front 
of  an  old  house  at  the  corner  of  the  street  near  Mrs. 
Cliff's  residence,  it  was  supposed  that  he  might  have 
changed  his  mind  in  regard  to  a  country  place,  and  was 
thinking  of  building  in  the  town. 

He  was  not  long  considered  a  stranger  in  the  place. 
Mrs.  Cliff  f requently  spoke  of  him  as  a  valued  friend,  and 
there  was  reason  to  believe  that  in  the  various  advent 
ures  and  dangers  of  which  they  had  heard,  Mr.  Burke 
had  been  of  great  service  to  their  old  friend  and  neigh 
bor,  and  it  was  not  unlikely  that  his  influence  had  had  a 
good  deal  to  do  with  her  receipt  of  a  portion  of  the  treas 
ure  discovered  by  the  commander  of  the  expedition. 

Several  persons  had  said  more  than  once  that  they 
could  not  see  why  Mrs.  Cliff  should  have  had  any  claim 
upon  this  treasure,  except,  perhaps,  to  the  extent  of  her 
losses.  But  if  she  had  had  a  friend  in  camp,  —  and  Mr. 
Burke  was  certainly  a  friend,  —  it  was  easy  to  understand 
why  he  would  do  the  best  he  could,  at  a  time  when  money 
was  so  plenty,  for  the  benefit  of  one  whom  he  knew  to  be 
a  widow  in  straitened  circumstances. 

So  Mr.  Burke  was  looked  upon  not  only  as  a  man  of 
wealth  and  superior  tastes  in  regard  to  food  and  personal 
comfort,  but  as  a  man  of  a  liberal  and  generous  disposi 
tion.  Furthermore,  there  was  no  pride  about  him. 
Often  on  his  return  from  his  drives,  his  barouche  and 
pair,  which  Mr.  Williams  had  obtained  in  Harrington 


70  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

for  his  guest's  express  benefit,  would  stop  in  front  of 
Mrs.  Cliffs  modest  residence ;  and  two  or  three  times  he 
had  taken  that  good  lady  and  Willy  Croup  to  drive  with 
him. 

But  Mrs.  Cliff  did  not  care  very  much  for  the  barouche. 
She  would  have  preferred  a  little  phaeton  and  a  horse 
which  she  could  drive  herself.  As  for  her  horse  and  the 
two-seated  wagon,  that  was  declared  by  most  of  the  ladies 
of  the  town  to  be  a  piece  of  absolute  extravagance.  It  was 
used  almost  exclusively  by  Willy,  who  was  known  to  deal 
with  shops  in  the  most  distant  part  of  the  town  in  order 
that  she  might  have  an  excuse,  it  was  said,  to  order  out 
that  wagon  and  have  Andrew  Marks  to  drive  her. 

Of  course  they  did  not  know  how  often  Mrs.  Cliff  had 
said  to  herself  that  it  was  really  not  a  waste  of  money 
to  keep  this  horse,  for  Willy  was  no  longer  young ;  and  if 
she  could  save  her  any  weary  steps,  she  ought  to  do  it, 
and  at  the  same  time  relieve  a  little  the  congested  state 
of  her  income. 

Moreover,  Mr.  Burke  was  not  of  an  unknown  family. 
He  was  quite  willing  to  talk  about  himself,  especially  to 
Mr.  Williams,  as  they  sat  and  smoked  together  in  the 
evening,  and  he  said  a  good  deal  about  his  father,  who 
had  owned  two  ships  at  Nantucket,  and  who,  according 
to  his  son,  was  one  of  the  most  influential  citizens  of  the 
place. 

Mr.  Williams  had  heard  of  the  Burkes  of  Nantucket, 
and  he  did  not  think  any  the  less  of  the  one  who  was  now 
his  guest,  because  his  father's  ships  had  come  to  grief 
during  his  boyhood,  and  he  had  been  obliged  to  give  up  a 


ME.   BURKE   BEGINS   TO   MAKE   THINGS   MOVE      71 

career  on  shore,  which  he  would  hare  liked,  and  go  to 
sea,  which  he  did  not  like.  A  brave  spirit  in  poverty 
coupled  with  a  liberal  disposition  in  opulence  was  enough 
to  place  Mr.  Burke  on  a  very  high  plane  in  the  opinions 
of  the  people  of  Plainton. 

Half  a  mile  outside  the  town,  upon  a  commanding 
eminence,  there  was  a  handsome  house  which  belonged 
to  a  family  named  Buskirk.  These  people  were  really 
not  of  Plainton,  although  their  post-office  and  railroad 
station  were  there.  They  were  rich  city  people  who 
came  to  this  country  place  for  the  summer  and  autumn, 
and  who  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  town  folks,  except 
in  a  limited  degree  to  deal  with  some  of  them. 

This  family  lived  in  great  style,  and  their  coachman 
and  footman  in  knee  breeches,  their  handsome  horses 
with  docked  tails,  the  beautiful  grounds  about  their 
house,  a  feebly  shooting  fountain  on  the  front  lawn,  were 
a  source  of  anxious  disquietude  in  the  mind  of  Mrs.  Cliff. 
They  were  like  the  skeletons  which  were  brought  in  at 
the  feasts  of  the  ancients. 

"  If  I  should  ever  be  obliged  to  live  like  the  Buskirks 
on  the  hill,"  the  good  lady  would  say  to  herself,  "  I 
would  wish  myself  back  to  what  I  used  to  be,  asking 
only  that  my  debts  be  paid." 

Even  the  Buskirks  took  notice  of  Mr.  Burke.  In  him 
they  thought  it  possible  they  might  have  a  neighbor.  If 
he  should  buy  a  place  and  build  a  fine  house  somewhere 
in  their  vicinity,  which  they  thought  the  only  vicinity  in 
which  any  one  should  build  a  fine  house,  it  might  be  a 
very  good  thing,  and  would  certainly  not  depreciate  the 


72  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

« 

value  of  their  property.     A  wealthy  bachelor  might  in 
deed  be  a  more  desirable  neighbor  than  a  large  family. 

The  Buskirks  had  been  called  upon  when  they  came  to 
Plainton  a  few  years  before  by  several  families.  Of 
course,  the  clergyman,  Mr.  Perley,  and  his  wife,  paid 
them  a  visit,  and  the  two  Misses  Thorpedyke  hired  a 
carriage  and  drove  to  the  house,  and,  although  they  did 
not  see  the  family,  they  left  their  cards. 

After  some  time  these  and  other  calls  were  returned, 
but  in  the  most  ceremonious  manner,  and  there  ended  the 
social  intercourse  between  the  fine  house  on  the  hill  and 
the  town. 

As  the  Buskirks  drove  to  Harrington  to  church,  they 
did  not  care  about  the  Perleys,  and  although  they 
seemed  somewhat  inclined  to  cultivate  the  Thorpedykes, 
who  were  known  to  be  of  such  an  excellent  old  family, 
the  Thorpedykes  did  not  reciprocate  the  feeling,  and, 
having  declined  an  invitation  to  tea,  received  no  more. 

But  now  Mr.  Buskirk,  who  had  come  up  on  Saturday 
to  spend  Sunday  with  his  family,  actually  called  on  Mr. 
Burke  at  the  hotel.  The  wealthy  sailor  was  not  at  home, 
and  the  city  gentleman  left  his  card. 

When  Mr.  Burke  showed  this  card  to  Mrs.  Cliff,  her 
face  clouded.  "  Are  you  going  to  return  the  visit  ? " 
said  she. 

"  Oh  yes ! "  answered  Burke.  "  Some  of  these  days  I 
will  drive  up  and  look  in  on  them.  I  expect  they  have 
got  a  fancy  parlor,  and  I  would  like  to  sit  in  it  a  while 
and  think  of  the  days  when  I  used  to  swab  the  deck. 
There's  nothin*  more  elevatin',  to  my  mind,  than  just  that 


MR.   BURKE   BEGINS   TO   MAKE   THINGS   MOVE      78 

sort  of  thing.  I  do  it  sometime  when  I  am  eatin'  my 
meals  at  the  hotel,  and  the  better  I  can  bring  to  mind 
the  bad  coffee  and  hard  tack,  the  better  I  like  what's 
set  before  me." 

Mrs.  Cliff  sighed.  She  wished  Mr.  Buskirk  had  kept 
away  from  the  hotel. 

As  soon  as  Mrs.  Cliff  had  consented  to  the  erection  of 
the  new  dining-room  on  the  corner  lot,  —  and  she  did 
not  hesitate  after  Mr.  Burke  had  explained  to  her  how 
easy  it  would  be  to  do  the  whole  thing  almost  without 
her  knowing  anything  about  it,  if  she  did  not  want  to 
bother  herself  in  the  matter,  —  the  enterprise  was 
begun. 

Burke,  who  was  of  an  active  mind,  and  who  delighted 
in  managing  and  directing,  undertook  to  arrange  every 
thing.  There  was  no  agreement  between  Mrs.  Cliff  and 
himself  that  he  should  do  this,  but  it  pleased  him  so 
much  to  do  it,  and  it  pleased  her  so  much  to  have  him 
do  it,  that  it  was  done  as  a  thing  which  might  be  ex 
pected  to  happen  naturally. 

Sometimes  she  said  he  was  giving  her  too  much  of  his 
time,  but  he  scorned  such  an  idea.  He  had  nothing  to 
do,  for  he  did  not  believe  that  he  should  buy  a  place  for 
himself  until  spring,  because  he  wanted  to  pick  out  a 
spot  to  live  in  when  the  leaves  were  coming  out  instead 
of  when  they  were  dropping  off,  and  the  best  fun  he 
knew  of  would  be  to  have  command  of  a  big  crew,  and 
to  keep  them  at  work  building  Mrs.  Cliff's  dining-room. 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  have  you  attend  to  the  contracts," 
said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "and  all  I  ask  is,  that  while  you  don't 


74  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

waste  anything,  —  for  I  think  it  is  a  sin  to  waste  money 
no  matter  how  much  you  may  have,  —  that  you  will  help 
me  as  much  as  you  can  to  make  me  feel  that  I  really  am 
making  use  of  my  income." 

Burke  agreed  to  do  all  this,  always  under  her  advice, 
of  course,  and  very  soon  he  had  his  crew,  and  they  were 
hard  at  work.  He  sent  to  Harrington  and  employed  an 
architect  to  make  plans,  and  as  soon  as  the  general  basis 
of  these  was  agreed  upon,  the  building  was  put  in  charge 
of  a  contractor,  who,  under  Mr.  Burke,  began  to  collect 
material  and  workmen  from  all  available  quarters. 

"  We've  got  to  work  sharp,  for  the  new  building  must 
be  moored  alongside  Mrs.  Cliff's  house  before  the  first 
snowstorm." 

A  lawyer  of  Plainton  undertook  the  purchase  of  the 
land  and,  as  the  payments  were  to  be  made  in  cash, 
and  as  there  was  no  chaffering  about  prices,  this  busi 
ness  was  soon  concluded. 

As  to  the  Barnard  family,  Mr.  Burke  himself  under 
took  negotiations  with  them.  When  he  had  told  them 
of  the  handsome  lot  on  another  street,  which  would  be 
given  them  in  exchange,  and  how  he  would  gently  slide 
their  house  to  the  new  location,  and  put  it  down  on  ;y iv 
part  of  the  lot  which  they  might  choose,  and  guaranteed 
that  it  should  be  moved  so  gently  that  the  clocks  would 
not  stop  ticking,  nor  the  tea  or  coffee  spill  out  of  their 
cups,  if  they  chose  to  take  their  meals  ou  board  during 
the  voyage;  and  as,  furthermore,  he  promised  a  hand 
some  sum  to  recompense  them  for  the  necessity  of  leav 
ing  behind  their  well,  which  he  could  not  undertake  to 


MR.   BURKE   BEGINS   TO   MAKE  THINGS   MOVE      75 

move,  and  for  any  minor  inconveniences  and  losses,  their 
consent  to  the  change  of  location  was  soon  obtained. 

Four  days  after  this  Burke  started  the  Barnard  house 
on  its  travels.  As  soon  as  he  had  made  his  agreement 
with  the  family,  he  had  brought  a  man  down  from  Har 
rington,  whose  business  it  was  to  move  houses,  and  had 
put  the  job  into  his  hands.  He  stipulated  that  at  one 
o'clock  P.M.  on  the  day  agreed  upon  the  house  was  to 
begin  to  move,  and  he  arranged  with  the  mason  to 
whom  he  had  given  the  contract  for  preparing  the 
cellar  on  the  new  lot,  that  he  should  begin  operations 
at  the  same  hour. 

He  then  offered  a  reward  of  two  hundred  dollars  to 
be  given  to  the  mover  if  he  got  his  house  to  its  destina 
tion  before  the  cellar  was  done,  or  to  the  mason  if  he 
finished  the  cellar  before  the  house  arrived. 

The  Barnards  had  an  early  dinner,  which  was  cooked 
on  a  kerosene  stove,  their  chimney  having  been  taken 
down,  but  they  had  not  finished  washing  the  dishes 
when  their  house  began  to  move. 

Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy  ran  to  bid  them  good-bye,  and 
all  the  Barnards,  old  and  young,  leaned  out  of  a  back 
window  and  shook  hands. 

Mr.  Burke  had  arranged  a  sort  of  gang-plank  with  a 
railing  if  any  of  them  wanted  to  go  on  shore  —  that  is, 
step  on  terra  firma  —  during  the  voyage.  But  Samuel 
Rolands,  the  mover,  heedful  of  his  special  prize,  urged 
upon  them  not  to  get  out  any  oftener  than  could  be 
helped,  because  when  they  wished  to  use  the  gang 
plank  he  would  be  obliged  to  stop. 


76  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

There  were  two  boys  in  the  family  who  were  able  to 
jump  off  and  on  whenever  they  pleased,  but  boys  are 
boys,  and  very  different  from  other  people. 

Houses  had  been  moved  in  Plainton  before,  but  never 
had  any  inhabitants  of  the  place  beheld  a  building  glide 
along  upon  its  timber  course  with,  speaking  compara 
tively,  the  rapidity  of  this  travelling  home. 

Most  of  the  citizens  of  the  place  who  had  leisure,  came 
at  some  time  that  afternoon  to  look  at  the  moving  house, 
and  many  of  them  walked  by  its  side,  talking  to  the  Bar- 
nards,  who,  as  the  sun  was  warm,  stood  at  an  open  win 
dow,  very  much  excited  by  the  spirit  of  adventure,  and 
quite  willing  to  converse. 

Over  and  over  they  assured  their  neighbors  that  they 
would  never  know  they  were  moving  if  they  did  not  see 
the  trees  and  things  slowly  passing  by  them. 

As  they  crossed  the  street  and  passed  between  two 
houses  on  the  opposite  side,  the  inhabitants  of  these 
gathered  at  their  windows,  and  the  conversation  was  vwy 
lively  with  the  Barnards,  as  the  house  of  the  latter  passed 
slowly  by. 

All  night  that  house  moved  on,  and  the  young  people 
of  the  village  accompanied  it  until  eleven  o'clock,  when 
the  Barnards  went  to  bed. 

Mr.  Burke  divided  his  time  between  watching  the 
moving  house,  at  which  all  the  men  who  could  be  em 
ployed  in  any  way,  and  all  the  horses  which  could  be 
conveniently  attached  to  the  windlasses,  were  working  in 
watches  of  four  hours  each,  in  order  to  keep  them  fresh 
and  vigorous,  —  and  the  lot  where  the  new  cellar  was 


MB.   BURKE  BEGINS   TO   MAKE  THINGS   MOVE      77 

being  constructed,  where  the  masons  continued  their 
labors  at  night  by  the  light  of  lanterns  and  a  blazing 
bonfire  fed  with  resinous  pine. 

The  excitement  caused  by  these  two  scenes  of  activity 
was  such  that  it  is  probable  that  few  of  the  people  of  the 
town  went  to  bed  sooner  than  the  Barnard  family. 

^Early  the  next  morning  the  two  Barnard  boys  looked 
out  of  the  window  of  their  bedroom  and  saw  beneath 
them  the  Hastings'  barnyard,  with  the  Hastings  boy 
milking.  They  were  so  excited  by  this  vision  that  they 
threw  their  shoes  and  'stockings  out  at  him,  having  no 
other  missiles  convenient,  and  for  nearly  half  an  hour  he 
followed  that  house,  trying  to  toss  the  articles  back 
through  the  open  window,  while  the  cow  stood  waiting 
for  the  milking  to  be  finished. 

On  the  evening  of  the  third  day  after  its  departure 
from  its  original  position,  the  Barnard  house  arrived  on 
the  new  lot,  and,  to  the  disgust  of  Samuel  Rolands,  he 
found  the  cellar  entirely  finished  and  ready  for  him  to 
place  the  house  upon  it.  But  Mr.  Burke,  who  had  been 
quite  sure  that  this  would  be  the  result  of  the  competi 
tion,  comforted  him  by  telling  him  that  as  he  had  done 
his  best,  he  too  should  have  a  prize  equal  to  that  given 
to  the  mason.  This  had  been  suggested  by  Mrs.  Cliff, 
because,  she  said,  that  as  they  were  both  hard-working 
men  with  families,  and  although  the  house-mover  was 
not  a  citizen  of  Plainton,  he  had  once  lived  there,  she 
was  very  glad  of  this  opportunity  of  helping  them  along. 

As  soon  as  this  important  undertaking  had  been  fin 
ished,  Mr.  Burke  was  able  to  give  his  sole  attention  to 


78  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

the  new  dining-room  on  the  corner  lot.  He  and  the 
architect  had  worked  hard  upon  the  plans,  and  when 
they  were  finished  they  had  been  shown  to  Mrs.  Cliff. 
She  understood  them  in  a  general  way,  and  was  very 
glad  to  see  that  such  ample  provisions  had  been  made  in 
regard  to  closets,  though  she  was  not  able  to  perceive 
with  her  mind's  eye  the  exact  dimensions  of  a  room 
nineteen  by  twenty-seven,  nor  to  appreciate  the  difference 
between  a  ceiling  twelve  feet  high,  and  another  which 
was  nine. 

However,  having  told  Mr.  Burke  and  the  architect 
what  she  wanted,  and  both  of  them  having  told  her 
what  she  ought  to  have,  she  determined  to  leave  the 
whole  matter  in  their  hands.  This  resolution  was 
greatly  approved  by  her  sailor  friend,  for,  as  the  object 
of  the  plan  of  construction  was  to  relieve  her  of  all 
annoyance  consequent  upon  building  operations,  the 
more  she  left  everything  to  those  who  delighted  in 
the  turmoil  of  construction,  the  better  it  would  be  for 
all. 

Everything  had  been  done  in  the  plans  to  prevent 
interference  with  the  neatness  and  comfort  of  Mrs. 
ClifFs  present  abode.  The  door  of  the  new  dining-room 
was  so  arranged  that  when  it  was  moved  up  to  the  old 
house,  it  would  exactly  fit  against  a  door  in  the  latter 
which  opened  from  a  side  hall  upon  a  little  porch.  This 
porch  being  removed,  the  two  doors  would  fit  exactly 
to  each  other,  and  there  would  be  none  of  the  dust  and 
noise  consequent  upon  the  cutting  away  of  walls. 

So  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy  lived  on  in  peace,  comfort, 


MR.    BURKE    BEGINS    TO    MAKE   THINGS    MOVE       79 

and  quiet  in  their  old  home,  while  on  the  corner  lot 
there  was  hammering,  and  banging,  and  sawing  all  day. 
Mr.  Burke  would  have  had  this  work  go  on  by  night, 
but  the  contractor  refused.  His  men  would  work  extra 
hours  in  consideration  of  extra  inducements,  but  good 
carpenter  work,  he  declared,  could  not  be  done  by  lan 
tern  light. 

The  people  of  Plainton  did  not  at  all  understand  the 
operations  on  the  corner  lot.  Mr.  Burke  did  not  tell 
them  much  about  it,  and  the  contractor  was  not  willing 
to  talk.  He  had  some  doubts  in  regard  to  the  scheme, 
but  as  he  was  well  paid,  he  would  do  his  best.  It  had 
been  mentioned  that  the  new  building  was  to  be  Mrs. 
Cliff's  dining-room,  but  this  idea  soon  faded  out  of  the 
Plainton  mind,  which  was  not  adapted  to  grasp  and 
hold  it. 

Consequently,  as  Mr.  Burke  had  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  the  building,  and  as  Mrs.  Cliff  did  not  appear  to 
be  concerned  in  it  at  all,  it  was  generally  believed  that 
the  gentleman  at  the  hotel  was  putting  up  a  house  for 
himself  on  the  corner  lot.  This  knowledge  was  the 
only  conclusion  which  would  explain  the  fact  that  the 
house  was  built  upon  smooth  horizontal  timbers,  and 
not  upon  a  stone  or  brick  foundation.  A  man  who  had 
been  a  sailor  might  fancy  to  build  a  house  something  as 
he  would  build  a  ship  in  a  shipyard,  and  not  attach  it 
permanently  to  the  earth. 


80  MKS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

CHAPTER  IX 

A    MEETING    OF    HEIRS 

WHILE  the  building  operations  were  going  on  at  such 
a  rapid  rate  on  the  corner  lot,  Mrs.  Cliff  tried  to  make 
herself  as  happy  as  possible  in  her  own  home.  She 
liked  having  enough  servants  to  do  all  the  work,  and 
relieve  both  her  and  Willy.  She  liked  to  be  able  to 
drive  out  when  she  wanted  to,  or  to  invite  a  few  of  her 
friends  to  dinner  or  to  tea,  and  to  give  them  the  very 
best  the  markets  afforded  of  everything  she  thought 
they  might  like ;  but  she  was  not  a  satisfied  woman. 

It  was  true  that  Mr.  Burke  was  doing  all  that  he 
could  with  her  money,  and  doing  it  well,  she  had  not 
the  slightest  doubt;  but,  after  all,  a  new  dining-room 
was  a  matter  of  small  importance.  She  had  fears  that 
even  after  it  was  all  finished  and  paid  for  she  would 
find  that  her  income  had  gained  upon  her. 

As  often  as  once  a  day  the  argument  came  to  her 
that  it  would  be  wise  for  her  to  give  away  the  bulk  of 
her  fortune  in  charity,  and  thus  rid  herself  of  the 
necessity  for  this  depressing  struggle  between  her  desire 
to  live  as  she  wanted  to  live,  and  the  obligations  to  her 
self  under  which  her  fortune  placed  her ;  but  she  could 
not  consent  to  thus  part  with  her  great  fortune.  She 
would  not  turn  her  back  upon  her  golden  opportunities. 
As  soon  as  she  had  so  determined  her  life  that  the 
assertion  of  her  riches  would  not  interfere  with  her 


A   MEETING   OF   HEIRS  81 

domestic  and  social  affairs,  she  would  be  charitable 
enough,  she  would  do  good  works  upon  a  large  scale ; 
but  she  must  first  determine  what  she  was  to  do  for 
herself,  and  so  let  her  charities  begin  at  home. 

This  undecided  state  of  mind  did  not  have  a  good 
effect  upon  her  general  appearance,  and  it  was  fre 
quently  remarked  that  her  health  was  not  what  it  used 
to  be.  Miss  Nancy  Shott  thought  there  was  nothing 
to  wonder  at  in  this.  Mrs.  Cliff  had  never  been  accus 
tomed  to  spend  money,  and  it  was  easy  to  see,  from  the 
things  she  had  bought  abroad  and  put  -into  that  little 
house,  that  she  had  expended  a  good  deal  more  than 
she  could  afford,  and  no  wonder  she  was  troubled,  and 
no  wonder  she  was  looking  thin  and  sick. 

Other  friends,  however,  did  not  entirely  agree  with 
Miss  Shott.  They  thought  their  old  friend  was  en 
tirely  too  sensible  a  woman  to  waste  a  fortune,  whether 
it  had  been  large  or  small,  which  had  come  to  her  in 
so  wonderful  a  manner;  and  they  believed  she  had 
money  enough  to  live  on  very  comfortably.  If  this 
were  not  the  case,  she  would  never  consent  to  keep  a 
carriage  almost  for  Willy  Croup's  sole  use. 

They  thought,  perhaps,  that  the  example  and  com 
panionship  of  Mr.  Burke  might  have  had  an  effect  upon 
her.  It  was  as  likely  as  not  that  she  had  borne  part 
of  the  expense  of  moving  the  Barnard  house,  so  that 
there  should  be  nothing  between  her  and  the  new  build 
ing.  But  this,  as  they  said  themselves,  was  mere  sur 
mise.  Mr.  Burke  might  fancy  large  groundst  and  he 
was  certainly  able  to  have  them  if  he  wanted  them. 


82  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

Whatever  people  said  aud  thought  about  Mrs.  Cliff  and 
her  money,  it  was  generally  believed  that  she  was  in 
comfortable  circumstances.  Still,  it  had  to  be  admitted 
that  she  was  getting  on  in  years. 

Now  arose  a  very  important  question  among  the  gos 
sips  of  Plainton :  who  was  to  be  Mrs.  Cliffs  heir  ? 

Everybody  knew  that  Mrs.  Cliff  had  but  one  blood 
relation  living,  and  that  was  Willy  Croup,  and  no  one 
who  had  given  any  thought  whatever  to  the  subject 
believed  that  Willy  Croup  would  be  her  heir.  Her 
husband  had  some  distant  relatives,  but,  as  they  had  had 
nothing  to  do  with  Mrs.  Cliff  during  the  days  of  her 
adversity,  it  was  not  likely  that  she  would  now  have 
anything  to  do  with  them.  Especially,  as  any  money 
she  had  to  leave  did  not  come  through  her  hus 
band. 

But,  although  the  simple-minded  Willy  Croup  was  a 
person  who  would  not  know  how  to  take  care  of  money 
if  she  had  it,  and  although  everybody  knew  that  if 
Mrs.  Cliff  made  a  will  she  would  never  think  of  leaving 
her  property  to  Willy,  still,  everybody  who  thought  or 
talked  about  the  matter  saw  the  appalling  fact  staring 
them  in  their  faces  —  that  if  Mrs.  Cliff  died  without 
a  will,  Willy  would  inherit  her  possessions ! 

The  more  it  was  considered,  the  more  did  this  unpleas 
ant  contingency  trouble  the  minds  of  certain  of  the 
female  citizens  of  Plaintou.  Miss  Cushiug,  the  princi 
pal  dressmaker  of  the  place,  was  greatly  concerned 
upon  this  subject,  and  as  her  parlor,  where  she  generally 
sat  at  her  work,  was  a  favorite  resort  of  certain  ladies, 


A   MEETING   OP    HEIRS  83 

who  sometimes  had  orders  to  give,  and  always  had  a 
great  deal  to  say,  it  was  natural  that  those  good  women 
who  took  most  to  heart  Mrs.  Cliff's  heirless  condition 
should  think  of  Miss  Gushing  whenever  they  were  in 
clined  to  talk  upon  the  subject. 

Miss  Shott  dropped  in  there  one  day  with  a  very 
doleful  countenance.  That  very  morning  she  had  passed 
Mrs.  Cliff's  house  on  the  other  side  of  the  way,  and 
had  seen  that  poor  widow  standing  in  her  front  yard 
with  the  most  dejected  and  miserable  countenance  she 
had  ever  seen  on  a  human  being. 

"  People  might  talk  as  much  as  they  pleased  about 
Mrs.  Cliff  being  troubled  because  she  had  spent  too 
much  money,  that  all  might  be,  or  it  might  not  be,  but 
it  was  not  the  reason  for  that  woman  looking  as  if  she 
was  just  ready  to  drop  into  a  sick-bed.  When  people 
go  to  the  most  unhealthy  regions  in  the  whole  world, 
and  live  in  holes  in  the  ground  like  hedgehogs,  they 
cannot  expect  to  come  home  without  seeds  of  disease 
in  their  system,  which  are  bound  to  come  out.  And  that 
those  seeds  were  now  coming  out  in  Mrs.  Cliff  no  sensi 
ble  person  could  look  at  her  and  deny." 

When  Miss  Gushing  heard  this,  she  felt  more  strongly 
convinced  than  ever  of  the  importance  of  the  subject 
upon  which  she  and  some  of  her  friends  had  been  talk 
ing.  But  she  said  nothing  in  regard  to  that  subject  to 
Miss  Shott.  What  she  had  to  say  and  what  she  had 
already  said  about  the  future  of  Mrs.  Cliff's  property, 
and  what  her  particular  friends  had  said,  were  matters 
which  none  of  them  wanted  repeated,  and  when  a  citizen 


84  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

of  Plainton  did  not  wish  anything  repeated,  it  was  not 
told  to  Miss  Shott. 

But  after  Miss  Shott  had  gone,  there  came  in  Mrs. 
Ferguson,  a  widow  lady,  and  shortly  afterwards,  Miss 
Inchmau,  a  middle-aged  spinster,  accompanied  by  Mrs. 
Wells  and  Mrs.  Archibald,  these  latter  both  worthy 
matrons  of  the  town.  Mrs.  Archibald  really  came  to 
talk  to  Miss  Gushing  about  a  winter  dress,  but  during 
the  subsequent  conversation  she  made  no  reference  to 
this  errand. 

Miss  Gushing  was  relating  to  Mrs.  Ferguson  what 
Nancy  had  told  her  when  the  other  ladies  came  in,  but 
Nancy  Shott  had  stopped  in  at  each  of  their  houses  and 
had  already  given  them  the  information. 

"Nancy  always  makes  out  things  a  good  deal  worse 
than  they  are,"  said  Mrs.  Archibald,  "  but  there's  truth 
in  what  she  says.  Mrs.  Gliff  is  failing ;  everybody  can 
see  that ! " 

"Of  course  they  can,"  said  Miss  Gushing,  "and  I  say 
that  if  she  has  any  friends  in  Plainton,  —  and  everybody 
knows  she  has,  —  it's  time  for  them  to  do  something  !  " 

"The  trouble  is,  what  to  do,  and  who  is  to  do  it," 
remarked  Mrs.  Ferguson. 

"What  to  do  is  easy  enough,"  said  Miss  Gushing, 
"  but  who  is  to  do  it  is  another  matter." 

"  And  what  would  you  do  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Wells.  "  If 
she  feels  she  needs  a  doctor,  she  has  sense  enough  to  send 
for  one  without  waiting  until  her  friends  speak  about  it." 

"The  doctor  is  a  different  thing  altogether!"  said 
Miss  Gushing.  "If  he  comes  and  cures  her,  that's 


A   MEETING   OF   HEIRS  85 

neither  here  nor  there.  It  isn't  the  point!  But  the 
danger  is,  that,  whether  he  comes  or  not,  she  is  a  woman 
well  on  in  years,  with  a  constitution  breaking  down  under 
her,  —  that  is  as  far  as  appearances  go,  for  of  course  I 
can't  say  anything  positive  about  it,  —  and  she  has 
nobody  to  inherit  her  money,  and  as  far  as  anybody 
knows  she  has  never  made  a  will !  " 

"Oh,  she  has  never  made  a  will,"  said  Mrs.  Wells, 
"  because  my  John  is  in  the  office,  and  if  Mrs.  Cliff  had 
ever  come  there  on  such  business,  he  would  know  about 
it." 

"  But  she  ought  to  make  a  will,"  said  Miss  Gushing. 
"  That's  the  long  and  short  of  it ;  and  she  ought  to  have 
a  friend  who  would  tell  her  so.  That  would  be  no  more 
than  a  Christian  duty  which  any  one  of  us  would  owe  to 
another,  if  cases  were  changed." 

"I  don't  look  upon  Mrs.  Cliff  as  such  a  very  old 
woman,"  said  Miss  Inchman,  "  but  I  agree  with  you  that 
this  thing  ought  to  be  put  before  her.  Willy  Croup  will 
never  do  it,  and  really  if  some  one  of  us  don't,  I  don't 
know  who  will." 

"  There's  Mrs.  Perley,"  said  Mrs.  Archibald. 

"  Oh,  she'd  never  do  !  "  struck  in  Miss  Gushing.  "  Mrs. 
Perley  is  too  timid.  She  would  throw  it  off  on  her  hus 
band,  and  if  he  talks  to  Mrs.  Cliff  about  a  will,  her  money 
will  all  go  to  the  church  or  to  some  charity.  I  should 
say  that  one  of  us  ought  to  take  on  herself  this  friendly 
duty.  Of  course,  it  would  not  do  to  go  to  her  and  blurt 
out  that  we  all  thought  she  would  not  live  very  long,  and 
that  she  ought  to  make  her  will ;  but  conversation  could 


86  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

be  led  to  the  matter,  and  when  Mrs.  Cliff  got  to  consider 
her  own  case,  I  haven't  a  doubt  but  that  she  would  be 
glad  to  have  advice  and  help  from  an  old  friend." 

All  agreed  that  this  was  a  very  correct  view  of  the 
case,  but  not  one  of  them  volunteered  to  go  and  talk  to 
Mrs.  Cliff  on  the  subject.  This  was  not  from  timidity, 
nor  from  an  unwillingness  to  meddle  in  other  people's  busi 
ness,  but  from  a  desire  on  the  part  of  each  not  to  injure 
herself  in  Mrs.  Cliff's  eyes  by  any  action  which  might 
indicate  that  she  had  a  personal  interest  in  the  matter. 

Miss  Cushing  voiced  the  opinion  of  the  company  when 
she  said :  "  When  a  person  has  no  heirs,  relatives  ought 
to  be  considered  first,  but  if  there  are  none  of  these,  or 
if  they  aren't  suitable,  then  friends  should  come  in.  Of 
course,  I  mean  the  oldest  and  best  friends  of  the  party 
without  heirs." 

No  remark  immediately  followed  this,  for  each  lady 
was  thinking  that  she,  probably  more  than  any  one  else 
in  Plainton,  had  a  claim  upon  Mrs.  Cliffs  attention  if 
she  were  leaving  her  property  to  her  friends,  as  she 
certainly  ought  to  do. 

In  years  gone  by  Mrs.  Cliff  had  been  a  very  kind 
friend  to  Miss  Cushing.  She  had  loaned  her  money, 
and  assisted  her  in  various  ways,  and  since  her  return 
to  Plainton  she  had  put  a  great  deal  of  work  into  Miss 
Cushing's  hands.  Dress  after  dress  for  Willy  Croup  had 
been  made,  and  material  for  others  was  still  lying  in 
the  house ;  and  Mrs.  Cliff  herself  had  ordered  so  much 
work,  that  at  this  moment  Miss  Cushing  had  two  girls 
upstairs  sewing  diligently  upon  it. 


A   MEETING   OF   HEIRS  87 

Having  experienced  all  this  kindness,  Miss  Gushing 
felt  that  if  Mrs.  Cliff  left  any  of  her  money  to  her 
friends,  she  would  certainly  remember  her,  and  that  right 
handsomely.  If  anybody  spoke  to  Mrs.  Cliff  upon  the 
subject,  she  would  insist,  and  she  thought  she  had  a 
right  to  insist,  that  her  name  should  be  brought  in 
prominently. 

Mrs.  Ferguson  had  also  well-defined  opinions  upon  the 
subject.  She  had  two  daughters  who  were  more  than 
half  grown,  had  learned  all  that  they  could  be  taught  in 
Plainton,  and  she  was  very  anxious  to  send  them  away 
to  school,  where  their  natural  talents  could  be  properly 
cultivated.  She  felt  that  she  owed  a  deep  and  solemn 
duty  to  these  girls,  and  she  had  already  talked  to  Mrs. 
Cliff  about  them. 

The  latter  had  taken  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  the 
matter,  and  although  she  had  not  said  she  would  help 
Mrs.  Ferguson  to  properly  educate  these  girls,  for  she 
had  not  asked  her  help,  she  had  taken  so  much  interest 
in  the  matter  that  their  mother  had  great  hopes.  And  if 
this  widow  without  any  children  felt  inclined  to  assist 
the  children  of  others  during  her  life,  how  much  more 
willing  would  she  be  likely  to  be  to  appropriate  a  por 
tion  of  what  she  left  behind  her  to  such  an  object ! 

Mrs.  Wells  and  Mrs.  Archibald  had  solid  claims  upon 
Mrs.  Cliff.  It  was  known  that  shortly  after  the  death 
of  her  husband,  when  she  found  it  difficult  to  make  col 
lections  and  was  very  much  in  need  of  money  for  im 
mediate  expenses,  they  had  each  made  loans  to  her.  It 
is  true  that  even  before  she  started  for  South  America 


88  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

she  had  repaid  these  loans  with  full  legal  interest.  But 
the  two  matrons  could  not  forget  that  they  had  been  kind 
to  her,  nor  did  they  believe  that  Mrs.  Cliff  had  forgotten 
what  they  had  done,  for  the  presents  she  had  brought  them 
from  France  were  generally  considered  as  being  more 
beautiful  and  more  valuable  than  those  given  to  anybody 
else,  —  except  the  Thorpedykes  and  the  Perleys.  This 
indicated  a  very  gratifying  gratitude  upon  which  the  two 
ladies,  each  for  herself,  had  every  right  to  build  very 
favorable  hopes. 

Miss  Inchman  and  Mrs.  Cliff  had  been  school-fellows, 
and  when  they  were  both  grown  young  women  there  had 
been  a  good  deal  of  doubt  which  one  of  them  William 
Cliff  would  marry.  He  made  his  choice,  and  Susan 
Inchman  never  showed  by  word  or  deed  that  she  be 
grudged  him  to  her  friend,  to  whom  she  had  always 
endeavored  to  show  just  as  much  kindly  feeling  as  if 
there  had  been  two  William  Cliffs,  and  each  of  the 
young  women  had  secured  one  of  them.  If  Mrs.  Cliff, 
now  a  widow  with  money  enough  to  live  well  upon  and 
keep  a  carriage,  was  making  out  her  will,  and  was  think 
ing  of  her  friends  in  Plainton,  it  would  be  impossible  for 
her  to  forget  one  who  was  the  oldest  friend  of  all. 

So  it  is  easy  to  see  why  she  did  not  want  to  go  to  Mrs. 
Cliff  and  prejudice  her  against  herself,  by  stating  that 
she  ought  to  make  a  will  for  the  benefit  of  the  old  friends 
who  had  always  loved  and  respected  her. 

Miss  Gushing  now  spoke.  She  knew  what  each  mem 
ber  of  the  little  company  was  thinking  about,  and  she 
felt  that  it  might  as  well  be  spoken  of. 


A   MEETING   OP   HEIRS  89 

"  It  does  seem  to  me,"  said  she,  "  and  I  never  would 
have  thought  of  it,  if  it  hadn't  been  for  the  talk  we  had, 
—  that  we  five  are  the  persons  that  Mrs.  Cliff  would  nat 
urally  mention  in  her  will,  not,  perhaps,  regarding  any 
money  she  might  have  to  leave  —  " 

"  I  don't  see  why !  "  interrupted  Mrs.  Ferguson. 

"  Well,  that's  neither  here  nor  there,"  continued  Miss 
Gushing.  "Money  is  money,  and  nobody  knows  what 
people  will  do  with  it  when  they  die,  and  if  she  leaves, 
anything  to  the  church  or  to  charity,  it's  her  money ! 
but  I'm  sure  that  Mrs.  Cliff  has  too  much  hard  sense 
to  order  her  executors  to  sell  all  the  beautiful  rugs,  and 
table-covers,  and  glass,  and  china,  and  the  dear  knows 
what  besides  is  in  her  house  at  this  moment !  They 
wouldn't  bring  anything  at  a  sale,  and  she  would  nat 
urally  think  of  leaving  them  to  her  friends.  Some 
might  get  more  and  some  might  get  less,  but  we  five  in 
this  room  at  this  present  moment  are  the  old  friends 
that  Mrs.  Cliff  would  naturally  remember.  And  if 
any  one  of  us  ever  sees  fit  to  speak  to  her  on  the  sub 
ject,  we're  the  people  who  should  be  mentioned  when 
the  proper  opportunity  comes  to  make  such  mention." 

"  You're  forgetting  Willy  Croup,"  said  Mrs.  Wells. 

"No,"  answered  Miss  Gushing,  a  little  sharply,  "I 
don't  forget  her,  but  I'll  have  nothing  to  do  with  her.  I 
don't  suppose  she'll  be  forgotten,  but  whatever  is  done 
for  her  or  whatever  is  not  done  for  her  is  not  our  busi 
ness.  It's  my  private  opinion,  however,  that  she's  had  a 
good  deal  already  !  " 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Ferguson,  "I  suppose  that  what 


90  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

you  say  is  all  right,  —  at  least  I've  no  objections  to  any 
of  it ;  but  whoever's  going  to  speak  to  her,  it  mustn't  be 
me,  because  she  knows  I've  daughters  to  educate,  and 
she'd  naturally  think  that  if  I  spoke  I  was  principally 
speaking  for  myself,  and  that  would  set  her  against  me, 
which  I  wouldn't  do  for  the  world.  And  whatever  other 
people  may  say,  I  believe  she  will  have  money  to  leave." 

Miss  Gushing  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and  then  spoke 
up  boldly. 

"It's  my  opinion,"  said  she,  "that  Miss  Inchman  is 
the  proper  person  to  speak  to  Mrs.  Cliff  on  this  impor 
tant  subject.  She's  known  her  all  her  life,  from  the 
time  when  they  were  little  girls  together,  and  when  they 
were  both  grown  she  made  sacrifices  for  her  which  none 
of  the  rest  of  us  had  the  chance  to  make. 

"  Now,  for  Miss  Inchman  to  go  and  open  the  subject 
in  a  gradual  and  friendly  way  would  be  the  right  and 
proper  thing,  no  matter  how  you  look  at  it,  and  it's  my 
opinion  that  we  who  are  now  here  should  ask  her  to  go 
and  speak,  not  in  our  names  perhaps,  but  out  of  good 
will  and  kindness  to  us  as  well  as  to  Mrs.  Cliff." 

Mrs.  Wells  was  a  lady  who  was  in  the  habit  of  say 
ing  things  at  the  wrong  time,  and  she  now  remarked, 
"  We've  forgotten  the  Thorpedykes !  You  know,  Mrs. 
Cliff  —  " 

Miss  Cushing  leaned  forward,  her  face  reddened. 
"  Bother  the  Thorpedykes !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  They're 
no  more  than  acquaintances,  and  ought  not  to  be  spoken 
of  at  all.  And  as  for  Mrs.  Perley,  if  any  one's  thinking 
of  her,  she's  only  been  here  four  years,  and  that  gives 


A   MEETING   OF   HEIRS  91 

her  no  claim  whatever,  considering  that  we've  been  life 
long  friends  and  neighbors  of  Sarah  Cliff. 

"And  now,  in  behalf  of  all  of  us,  I  ask  you,  Miss 
Inchman,  will  you  speak  to  Mrs.  Cliff  ?  " 

Miss  Inchinan  was  rather  a  small  woman,  spare  in 
figure,  and  she  wore  glasses,  which  seemed  to  be  of  a 
peculiar  kind,  for  while  they  enabled  her  to  see  through 
them  into  surrounding  space,  they  did  not  allow  people 
who  looked  at  her  to  see  through  them  into  her  eyes. 
People  often  remarked  that  you  could  not  tell  the  color 
of  Miss  Inchman's  eyes  when  she  had  her  spectacles  on. 

Thus  it  was  that  although  her  eyes  were  sometimes 
brighter  than  at  other  times,  and  this  could  be  noticed 
through  her  spectacles,  it  was  difficult  to  understand  her 
expression  and  to  discover  whether  she  was  angry  or 
amused. 

Now  Miss  Inchman's  eyes  behind  her  spectacles 
brightened  very  much  as  she  looked  from  Miss  Gushing 
to  the  other  members  of  the  little  party  who  had  consti 
tuted  themselves  the  heirs  of  Mrs.  Cliff.  None  of  them 
could  judge  from  her  face  what  she  was  likely  to  say, 
but  they  all  waited  to  hear  what  she  would  say.  At 
this  moment  the  door  opened,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  entered  the 
parlor. 


92  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

CHAPTER   X 

THK    INTELLECT   OF    MISS    INCHMAN 

IT  was  true  that  on  that  morning  Mrs.  Cliff  had  been 
standing  in  her  front  yard  looking  as  her  best  friends 
would  not  have  liked  her  to  look.  There  was  nothing 
physically  the  matter  with  her,  but  she  was  dissatisfied 
and  somewhat  disturbed  in  her  mind.  Mr.  Burke  was 
so  busy  nowadays  that  when  he  stopped  in  to  see  her  it 
was  only  for  a  few  minutes,  and  Willy  Croup  had 
developed  a  great  facility  in  discovering  things  which 
ought  to  be  attended  to  in  various  parts  of  the  town,  and 
of  going  to  attend  to  them  with  Andrew  Marks  to  drive 
her. 

Not  only  did  Mrs.  Cliff  feel  that  she  was  left  more  to 
herself  than  she  liked,  but  she  had  the  novel  experience 
of  not  being  able  to  find  interesting  occupation.  She 
was  glad  to  have  servants  who  could  perform  all  the 
household  duties,  and  could  have  done  more  if  they  had 
had  a  chance.  Still,  it  was  unpleasant  to  feel  that  she 
herself  could  do  so  little  to  fill  up  her  unoccupied  mo 
ments.  So  she  put  on  a  shawl  and  went  into  her  front 
yard,  simply  to  walk  about  and  get  a  little  of  the  fresh 
air.  But  when  she  went  out  of  the  door,  she  stood  still 
contemplating  the  front  fence. 

Here  was  a  fence  which  had  been  an  eyesore  to  her 
for  two  or  three  years!  She  believed  she  had  money 
enough  to  fence  in  the  whole  State,  and  yet  those  shabby 


THE   INTELLECT   OP   MISS   INCHMAN  93 

palings  and  posts  must  offend  her  eye  every  time  she 
came  out  of  her  door !  The  flowers  were  nearly  all  dead 
now,  and  she  would  have  had  a  new  fence  immediately, 
but  Mr.  Burke  had  dissuaded  her,  saying  that  when  the 
new  dining-room  was  brought  over  from  the  corner  lot 
there  would  have  to  be  a  fence  around  the  whole  prem 
ises,  and  it  would  be  better  to  have  it  all  done  at  once. 

"  There  are  so  many  things  which  I  can  afford  just  as 
well  as  not,"  she  said  to  herself,  "and  which  I  cannot 
do !  "  And  it  was  the  unmistakable  doleful  expression 
upon  her  countenance,  as  she  thought  this,  which  was 
the  foundation  of  Miss  Shott's  remarks  to  her  neighbors 
on  the  subject  of  Mrs.  Cliff's  probable  early  demise. 

Miss  Shott  was  passing  on  the  other  side  of  the  street, 
and  she  was  walking  rapidly,  but  she  could  see  more  out 
of  the  corner  of  her  eye  than  most  people  could  see  when 
they  were  looking  straight  before  them  at  the  same 
things. 

Suddenly  Mrs.  Cliff  determined  that  she  must  do 
something.  She  felt  blue,  —  she  wanted  to  talk  to  some 
body.  And,  feeling  thus,  she  naturally  went  into  the 
house,  put  on  her  bonnet  and  her  wrap,  and  walked  down 
to  see  Miss  Gushing.  There  was  not  anything  in  particu 
lar  that  she  wanted  to  see  her  about,  but  there  was 
work  going  on  and  she  might  talk  about  it ;  or,  it  might 
happen  that  she  would  be  inclined  to  give  some  orders. 
She  was  always  glad  to  do  anything  she  could  to  help 
that  hard-working  and  kind-hearted  neighbor ! 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  entered  the  parlor  of  Miss  Gushing, 
five  women  each  gave  a  sudden  start.  The  dressmaker 


94  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

was  so  thrown  off  her  balance  that  she  dropped  her  sew 
ing  on  the  floor,  and  rising,  went  forward  to  shake  her 
visitor  by  the  hand,  a  thing  she  was  not  in  the  habit  of 
doing  to  anybody,  because,  as  is  well  known  to  all  the 
world,  a  person  who  is  sewing  for  a  livelihood  cannot 
get  up  to  shake  hands  with  the  friends  and  acquaint 
ances  who  may  happen  in  upon  her.  At  this  the  other 
ladies  rose  and  shook  hands,  and  it  might  have  been 
supposed  that  the  new-comer  had  just  returned  from  a 
long  absence.  Then  Miss  Gushing  gave  Mrs.  Cliff  a 
chair,  and  they  all  sat  down  again. 

Mrs.  Cliff  looked  about  her  with  a  smile.  The  sight 
of  these  old  friends  cheered  her.  All  her  blues  were 
beginning  to  fade,  as  that  color  always  fades  in  any 
kind  of  sunshine. 

"  I'm  glad  to  see  so  many  of  you  together,"  she  said. 
"It  almost  seems  as  if  you  were  having  some  sort  of 
meeting.  What  is  it  about,  —  can't  I  join  in  ?  " 

At  this  there  was  a  momentary  silence  which  threat 
ened  to  become  very  embarrassing  if  it  continued  a  few 
seconds  more,  and  Miss  Gushing  was  on  the  point  of 
telling  the  greatest  lie  of  her  career,  trusting  that  the 
other  heirs  would  stand  by  her  and  support  her  in 
whatever  statements  she  made,  feeling  as  they  must  the 
absolute  necessity  of  saying  something  instantly.  But 
Miss  Inchman  spoke  before  any  one  else  had  a  chance 
to  do  so. 

"  You're  right,  Mrs.  Cliff,"  said  she,  "  we  are  consid 
ering  something!  We  didn't  come  here  on  purpose  to 
talk  about  it,  but  we  happened  in  together,  and  so  we 


THE   INTELLECT   OF   MISS   INCHMAN  95 

thought  we  would  talk  it  over.  And  we  all  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  something  which  ought  to  be 
mentioned  to  you,  and  I  was  asked  to  speak  to  you 
about  it." 

Four  simultaneous  gasps  were  now  heard  in  that  little 
parlor,  and  four  chills  ran  down  the  backs  of  four  self- 
constituted  heirs. 

"  I  must  say,  Susan,"  remarked  Mrs.  Cliff,  with  a 
good-humored  smile,  "if  you  want  me  to  do  anything, 
there's  no  need  of  being  so  wonderfully  formal  about  it ! 
If  any  one  of  you,  or  all  of  you  together,  for  that  mat 
ter,  have  anything  to  say  to  me,  all  you  had  to  do  was 
to  come  and  say  it." 

"They  didn't  seem  to  think  that  way,"  said  Miss 
Inchman.  "  They  all  thought  that  what  was  to  be  said 
would  come  better  from  me  because  I'd  known  you  so 
long,  and  we  had  grown  up  together." 

"  It  must  be  something  out  of  the  common,"  said  Mrs. 
Cliff.  "  What  in  the  world  can  it  be  ?  If  you  are  to 
speak,  Susan,  speak  out  at  once !  Let's  have  it ! " 

"  That's  just  what  I'm  going  to  do,"  said  Miss  Inch 
man. 

If  Mrs.  Cliff  had  looked  around  at  the  four  heirs  who 
were  sitting  upright  in  their  chairs,  gazing  in  horror  at 
Miss  Inchman,  she  would  have  been  startled,  and,  perhaps, 
frightened.  But  she  did  not  see  them.  She  was  so 
much  interested  in  what  her  old  friend  Susan  was  say 
ing,  that  she  gave  to  her  her  whole  attention. 

But  now  that  their  appointed  spokeswoman  had 
announced  her  intention  of  immediately  declaring  the 


96  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

object  of  the  meeting,  each  one  of  them  felt  that  this 
was  no  place  for  her !  But,  notwithstanding  this  feeling, 
not  one  of  them  moved  to  go.  Miss  Gushing,  of  course, 
had  no  excuse  for  leaving,  for  this  was  her  own  house ; 
and  although  the  others  might  have  pleaded  errands, 
a  power  stronger  than  their  disposition  to  fly  —  stronger 
even  than  their  fears  of  what  Mrs.  Cliff  might  say  to 
them  when  she  knew  all  —  kept  them  in  their  seats.  The 
spell  of  self-interest  was  upon  them  and  held  them  fast. 
Whatever  was  said  and  whatever  was  done  they  must 
be  there !  At  this  supreme  moment  they  could  not  leave 
the  room.  They  nerved  themselves,  they  breathed  hard, 
and  listened ! 

"  You  see,  Sarah,"  said  Miss  Inchman,  "  we  must  all 
die ! " 

"  That's  no  new  discovery,"  answered  Mrs.  Cliff,  and 
the  remark  seemed  to  her  so  odd  that  she  looked  around 
at  the  rest  of  the  company  to  see  how  they  took  it ;  and 
she  was  thereupon  impressed  with  the  idea  that  some  of 
them  had  not  thought  of  this  great  truth  of  late,  and 
that  its  sudden  announcement  had  thrown  them  into  a 
shocked  solemnity. 

But  the  soul  of  Miss  Gushing  was  more  than  shocked, 
—  it  was  filled  with  fury !  If  there  had  been  in  that 
room  at  that  instant  a  loaded  gun  pointed  towards  Miss 
Inchman,  Miss  Cushing  would  have  pulled  the  trigger. 
This  would  have  been  wicked,  she  well  knew,  and  con 
trary  to  her  every  principle,  but  never  before  had  she 
been  confronted  by  such  treachery  ! 

"  Well,"  continued  Miss  Inchman,  "  as  we  must  die,  we 


THE   INTELLECT   OF   MISS   INCHMAN  97 

ought  to  make  ourselves  ready  for  it  in  every  way  that 
we  can.  And  we've  been  thinking  —  " 

At  this  moment  the  endurance  of  Mrs.  Ferguson  gave 
way.  The  pace  and  the  strain  were  too  great  for  her. 
Each  of  the  others  had  herself  to  think  for,  but  she 
had  not  only  herself,  but  two  daughters.  She  gave  a 
groan,  her  head  fell  back,  her  eyes  closed,  and  with  a 
considerable  thump  she  slipped  from  her  chair  to  the 
floor.  Instantly  every  one  screamed  and  sprang  towards 
her. 

"  What  in  the  world  is  the  matter  with  her  ?  "  cried 
Mrs.  Cliff,  as  she  assisted  the  others  to  raise  the  head 
of  the  fainting  woman  and  to  loosen  her  dress. 

"  Oh,  I  suppose  it's  the  thought  of  her  late  husband ! " 
promptly  replied  Miss  Inchman,  who  felt  that  it  devolved 
on  her  to  say  something,  and  that  quickly.  Mrs.  Cliff 
looked  up  in  amazement. 

"  And  what  has  Mr.  Ferguson  to  do  with  anything  ?  " 
she  asked. 

"  Oh,  it's  the  new  cemetery  I  was  going  to  talk  to  you 
about,"  said  Miss  Inchman.  "  It  has  been  spoken  of  a 
good  deal  since  you  went  away,  and  we  all  thought  that 
if  you'd  agree  to  go  into  it  —  " 

"  Go  into  it !  "  cried  Mrs.  Cliff,  in  horror. 

"  I  mean,  join  with  the  people  who  are  in  favor  of  it," 
said  Miss  Inchman.  "  I  haven't  time  to  explain,  —  she's 
coming  to  now,  if  you'll  all  let  her  alone  !  All  I've  time 
to  say  is,  that  those  who  had  husbands  in  the  old  grave 
yard  and  might  perhaps  be  inclined  to  move  them  and 
put  up  monuments,  had  the  right  to  be  first  spoken  to. 


98  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

Although,  of  course,  it's  a  subject  which  everybody 
doesn't  care  to  speak  about,  and  as  for  Mrs.  Ferguson,  it's 
no  wonder,  knowing  her  as  we  do,  that  she  went  off  in 
this  way  when  she  knew  what  I  was  going  to  say, 
although,  in  fact,  I  wasn't  in  the  least  thinking  of  Mr. 
Ferguson !  " 

The  speaker  had  barely  time  to  finish  before  the  un 
fortunate  lady  who  had  fainted,  opened  her  eyes,  looked 
about  her,  and  asked  where  she  was.  And  now  that  she 
had  revived,  no  further  reference  could  be  made  to  the 
unfortunate  subject  which  had  caused  her  to  swoon. 

"  I  don't  see,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  as  she  stood  outside  with 
Miss  Inchman,  a  few  minutes  later,  "why  Mr.  Ferguson's 
removal  —  I'm  sure  it  isn't  necessary  to  make  it  if  she 
doesn't  want  to  —  should  trouble  Mrs.  Ferguson  any 
more  than  the  thought  of  Mr.  Cliffs  removal  troubles  me. 
I'm  perfectly  willing  to  do  what  I  can  for  the  new 
cemetery,  and  nobody  need  think  I'm  such  a  nervous 
hysterical  person  that  I'm  in  danger  of  popping  over  if 
the  subject  is  mentioned  to  me.  So  when  you  all  are 
ready  to  have  another  meeting,  I  hope  you  will  let  me 
know ! " 

When  Mrs.  Ferguson  felt  herself  well  enough  to  sit  up 
and  take  a  glass  of  water,  with  something  stimulating  in 
it,  she  was  informed  of  the  nature  of  the  statements 
which  had  been  finally  made  to  Mrs.  Cliff. 

"  You  know,  of  course,"  added  Miss  Gushing,  still  pale 
from  unappeased  rage,  ••  that  that  Susan  Inchman  began 
as  she  did,  just  to  spite  us  !  " 

"  It's  just  like  her  !  "  said  Mrs.   Archibald.     "  But  I 


ARRIVAL   OF   THE  NEW   DINING-ROOM  99 

never  could  have  believed  that  such  a  dried  codfish  of  a 
woman  could  have  so  much  intellect !  " 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    ARRIVAL    OF    THE    NEW    DINING-ROOM 

THE  little  meeting  at  the  house  of  Miss  Gushing 
resulted  in  something  very  different  from  the  anticipa 
tions  of  those  ladies  who  had  consulted  together  for  the 
purpose  of  constituting  themselves  the  heirs  of  Mrs. 
Cliff. 

That  good  lady  being  then  very  much  in  want  of  some 
thing  to  do  was  so  pleased  with  the  idea  of  a  new 
cemetery  that  she  entered  into  the  scheme  with  great 
earnestness.  She  was  particularly  pleased  with  this 
opportunity  of  making  good  use  of  her  money,  because, 
having  been  asked  by  others  to  join  them  in  this  work, 
she  was  not  obliged  to  pose  as  a  self-appointed  public 
benefactor. 

Mrs.  Cliff  worked  so  well  in  behalf  of  the  new  ceme 
tery  and  subscribed  so  much  money  towards  it,  through 
Mr.  Perley,  that  it  was  not  many  months  before  it 
became  the  successor  to  the  little  crowded  graveyard 
near  the  centre  of  the  town ;  and  the  remains  of  Mr. 
Cliff  were  removed  to  a  handsome  lot  and  overshadowed 
by  a  suitable  monument. 

Mrs.  Ferguson,  however,  in  speaking  with  Mrs.  Cliff 
upon  the  subject,  was  happy  to  have  an  opportunity  of 


100  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

assuring  her  that  she  thought  it  much  better  to  devote 
her  slender  means  to  the  education  of  her  daughters  than 
to  the  removal  of  her  late  husband  to  a  more  eligible 
resting-place. 

"  I'm  sure  he's  done  very  well  as  he  is  for  all  these 
years,"  she  said,  "  and  if  he  could  have  a  voice  in  the 
matter,  I'm  quite  sure  that  he  would  prefer  his  daugh 
ters'  education  to  his  own  removal." 

Mrs.  Cliff  did  not  wish  to  make  any  offer  which  might 
hurt  Mrs.  Ferguson's  very  sensitive  feelings,  but  she  said 
that  she  had  no  doubt  that  arrangements  could  be  made 
by  which  Mr.  Ferguson's  transfer  could  be  effected  with 
out  interfering  with  any  plans  which  might  have  been 
made  for  the  benefit  of  his  daughters ;  but,  although  this 
remark  did  not  satisfy  Mrs.  Ferguson,  she  was  glad  of 
even  this  slight  opportunity  of  bringing  the  subject  of 
her  daughters'  education  before  the  consideration  of  her 
friend. 

As  to  the  other  would-be  heirs,  they  did  not  immedi 
ately  turn  upon  Miss  Inchman  and  rend  her  in  revenge 
for  the  way  in  which  she  had  tricked  and  frightened 
them,  for  there  was  no  knowing  what  such  a  woman 
would  do  if  she  were  exasperated,  and  not  for  the  world 
would  they  have  Mrs.  Cliff  find  out  the  real  subject  of 
their  discussion  on  that  unlucky  morning  when  she 
made  herself  decidedly  one  too  many  in  Miss  Cushing's 
parlor. 

Consequently,  all  attempts  at  concerted  action  were 
dropped,  and  each  for  herself  determined  that  Mrs.  Cliff 
should  know  that  she  was  a  true  friend,  and  to  trust  to 


ARRIVAL   OF   THE   NEW   DINING-ROOM  101 

the  good  lady's  well-known  gratitude  and  friendly  feeling 
when  the  time  should  come  for  her  to  apportion  her 
worldly  goods  among  the  dear  ones  she  would  leave 
behind  her. 

There  were  certain  articles  in  Mrs.  Cliff's  house  for 
which  each  of  her  friends  had  a  decided  admiration,  and 
remarks  were  often  made  which  it  was  believed  would 
render  it  impossible  for  Mrs.  Cliff  to  make  a  mistake 
when  she  should  be  planning  her  will,  and  asking  her 
self  to  whom  she  should  give  this,  and  to  whom  that  ? 

It  was  about  a  Aveek  after  the  events  in  Miss  Cusli- 
ing's  parlor,  that  something  occurred  which  sent  a  thrill 
through  the  souls  of  a  good  many  people  in  Plainton, 
affecting  them  more  or  less  according  to  their  degree  of 
sensibility. 

Willy  Croup,  who  had  been  driven  about  the  town 
attending  to  various  matters  of  business  and  pleasure, 
was  informed  by  Andrew  Marks,  as  she  alighted  about 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  at  the  house  of  an  acquaint 
ance,  that  he  hoped  she  would  not  stop  very  long  be 
cause  he  had  some  business  of  his  own  to  attend  to  that 
afternoon,  and  he  wanted  .to  get  the  horse  cared  for  and 
the  cow  milked  as  early  as  possible,  so  that  he  might 
lock  up  the  barn  and  go  away.  To  this  Willy  answered 
that  he  need  not  wait  for  her,  for  she  could  easily  walk 
home  when  she  had  finished  her  visit. 

But  when  she  left  the  house,  after  a  protracted  call, 
she  did  not  walk  very  far,  for  it  so  happened  that  Mr. 
Burke,  who  had  found  leisure  that  afternoon  to  take  a 
drive  in  his  barouche,  came  up  behind  her,  and  very 


102  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

naturally  stopped  and  offered  to  take  her  home.  Willy, 
quite  as  naturally,  accepted  the  polite  proposition  and 
seated  herself  in  the  barouche  by  the  side  of  the  fur- 
trimmed  overcoat  and  the  high  silk  hat. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  people  of  the  town  who  were  in 
the  main  street  that  afternoon,  or  who  happened  to  be 
at  doors  or  windows;  that  the  very  birds  of  the  air, 
hopping  about  on  trees  or  house-tops;  that  the  horses, 
dogs,  and  cats;  that  even  the  insects,  whose  constitu 
tions  were  strong  enough  to  enable  them  to  buzz  about 
in  the  autumn  sunlight,  beheld  the  startling  sight  of 
Willy  Croup  and  the  fine  gentleman  at  the  hotel  riding 
together,  side  by  side,  in  broad  daylight,  through  the 
most  public  street  of  the  town. 

Once  before  these  two  had  been  seen  together  out  of 
doors,  but  then  they  had  been  walking,  and  almost  any 
two  people  who  knew  each  other  and  who  might  be 
walking  in  the  same  direction,  could,  without  impro 
priety  walk  side  by  side  and  converse  as  they  went ;  but 
now  the  incident  was  very  different. 

It  created  a  great  impression,  not  all  to  the  advantage 
of  Mr.  Burke,  for,  after  the  matter  had  been  very  thor 
oughly  discussed,  it  was  generally  conceded  that  he 
must  be  no  better  than  a  fortune-hunter.  Otherwise, 
why  should  he  be  paying  attention  to  Willy  Croup,  who, 
as  everybody  knew,  was  not  a  day  under  forty-five  years 
old,  and  therefore  at  least  ten  years  older  than  the 
gentleman  at  the  hotel. 

In  regard  to  the  fortune  which  he  was  hunting,  there 
was  no  difference  of  opinion ;  whatever  Mrs.  Cliff's  fort- 


ARRIVAL   OF   THE  NEW   DINING-ROOM  103 

une  might  be,  this  Mr.  Burke  wanted  it.  Of  course, 
he  would  not  endeavor  to  gain  his  object  by  marrying 
the  widow,  for  she  was  entirely  too  old  for  him ;  but  if 
he  married  Willy,  her  only  relative,  that  would  not  be 
quite  so  bad  as  to  age,  and  there  could  be  no  doubt  that 
these  two  would  ultimately  come  into  Mrs.  Cliff's  fort 
une,  which  was  probably  more  than  had  been  generally 
supposed.  She  had  always  been  very  close-mouthed 
about  her  affairs,  and  there  were  some  who  said  that 
even  in  her  early  days  of  widowhood  she  might  have 
been  more  stingy  than  she  was  poor.  She  must  have 
considerable  property,  or  Mr.  Burke  would  not  be  so  anx 
ious  to  get  it. 

Thus  it  happened  that  the  eventful  drive  in  the  ba 
rouche  had  a  very  different  effect  upon  the  reputations 
of  the  three  persons  concerned.  Mr.  Burke  was  lowered 
from  his  position  as  a  man  of  means  enjoying  his  fort-- 
une,  for  even  his  building  operations  were  probably 
undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  settling  himself  in  Mrs. 
Cliff's  neighborhood,  and  so  being  able  to  marry  Willy 
as  soon  as  possible. 

Willy  Croup,  although  everybody  spoke  of  her  con 
duct  as  absolutely  ridiculous  and  even  shameful,  rose  in 
public  estimation  simply  from  the  belief  that  she  was 
about  to  marry  a  man  who,  whatever  else  he  might  be, 
was  of  imposing  appearance  and  was  likely  to  be  rich. 

As  to  Mrs.  Cliff,  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  the  gen 
eral  respect  for  her  was  on  the  increase.  If  she  were 
rich  enough  to  attract  Mr.  Burke  to  the  town,  she  was 
probably  rich  enough  to  do  a  good  many  other  things, 


104  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

and  after  all  it  might  be  that  that  new  house  at  the 
corner  was  being  built  with  her  money. 

Miss  Shott  was  very  industrious  and  energetic  in  ex 
pressing  her  opinion  of  Mr.  Burke.  "  There's  a  chamber 
maid  at  the  hotel,"  she  said,  "who's  told  me  a  lot  of 
things  about  him,  and  it's  very  plain  to  my  mind  that  he 
isn't  the  gentleman  that  he  makes  himself  out  to  be ! 
His  handkerchiefs  and  his  hair-brush  aren't  the  kind 
that  go  with  fur  overcoats  and  high  hats,  and  she  has 
often  seen  him  stop  in  the  hall  downstairs  and  black  his 
own  boots !  Everybody  knows  he  was  a  sailor,  but  as  to 
his  ever  having  commanded  a  vessel,  I  don't  believe  a 
word  of  it!  But  Willy  Croup  and  that  man  needn't 
count  on  their  schemes  coming  out  all  right,  for  Sarah 
Cliff  isn't  any  older  than  I  am,  and  she's  just  as  likely  to 
outlive  them  as  she  is  to  die  before  them ! " 

The  fact  that  nobody  had  ever  said  that  Burke  had 
commanded  a  vessel,  and  that  Miss  Shott  had  started  the 
belief  that  Mrs.  Cliff  was  in  a  rapid  decline,  entirely 
escaped  the  attention  of  her  hearers,  so  interested  were 
they  in  the  subject  of  the  unworthiness  of  the  fine  gentle 
man  at  the  hotel. 

Winter  had  not  yet  really  set  in  when  George  Burke, 
who  had  perceived  no  reason  to  imagine  that  he  had 
made  a  drop  in  public  estimation,  felt  himself  stirred  by 
emotions  of  triumphant  joy.  The  new  building  on  the 
corner  lot  was  on  the  point  of  completion ! 

Workmen  and  master-workmen,  mechanics  and  labor 
ers,  had  swarmed  in,  over,  and  about  the  new  edifice  in 
such  numbers  that  sometimes  they  impeded  each  other. 


ARRIVAL   OF   THE   NEW   DINING-ROOM  105 

Close  upon  the  heels  of  the  masons  came  the  carpenters, 
and  following  them  the  plumbers  and  the  plasterers; 
while  the  painters  impatiently  restrained  themselves  in 
order  to  give  their  predecessors  time  to  get  out  of  their 
way. 

The  walls  and  ceilings  were  covered  with  the  plaster 
which  would  dry  the  quickest,  and  the  paper-hangers 
entered  the  rooms  almost  before  the  plasterers  could 
take  away  their  trowels  and  their  lime-begrimed  hats 
and  coats.  Cleaners  with  their  brooms  and  pails  jostled 
the  mechanics,  as  the  latter  left  the  various  rooms,  and 
everywhere  strode  Mr.  Burke.  He  had  made  up  his 
mind  that  the  building  must  be  ready  to  move  into 
the  instant  it  arrived  at  its  final  destination. 

It  was  a  very  different  building  from  what  Mrs.  Cliff 
had  proposed  to  herself  when  she  decided  to  add  a  din 
ing-room  to  her  old  house.  It  was  so  different  indeed, 
that  after  having  gone  two  or  three  times  to  look  upon 
the  piles  of  lumber  and  stone  and  the  crowds  of  men, 
digging,  and  hammering,  and  sawing  on  the  corner  lot, 
she  had  decided  to  leave  the  whole  matter  in  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Burke,  the  architect,  and  the  contractor.  And 
when  Willy  Croup  endeavored  to  explain  to  her  what 
was  going  on,  she  always  stopped  her,  saying  that  she 
would  wait  until  it  was  done  and  then  she  would  under 
stand  it. 

Mr.  Burke  too  had  urged  her,  especially  as  the  build 
ing  drew  near  to  completion,  not  to  bother  herself  in  the 
least  about  it,  but  to  give  him  the  pleasure  of  presenting 
it  to  her  entirely  finished  and  ready  for  occupancy.  So 


106  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

even  the  painting  and  paper-hanging  had  been  left  to  a 
professional  decorator,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  assured  Burke 
that  she  was  perfectly  willing  to  wait  for  the  new 
dining-room  until  it  was  ready  for  her. 

This  dining-room,  large  and  architecturally  handsome, 
was  planned,  as  has  been  said,  so  that  one  of  its  doors 
should  fit  exactly  against  the  side  hall  door  of  the  little 
house,  but  the  other  door  of  the  dining-room  opened 
into  a  wide  and  elegant  hall,  at  one  end  of  which  was 
a  portico  and  spacious  front  steps.  On  the  other  side 
of  this  hall  was  a  handsome  drawing-room,  and  behind 
the  drawing-room  and  opening  into  it,  an  alcove  library 
with  a  broad  piazza  at  one  side  of  it.  Back  of  the  din 
ing-room  was  a  spacious  kitchen,  with  pantries,  closets, 
scullery,  and  all  necessary  adjuncts. 

In  the  second  and  third  stories  of  the  edifice  were 
large  and  beautiful  bedrooms,  small  and  neat  bedrooms, 
bath-rooms,  servants'  rooms,  trunk-rooms,  and  every  kind 
of  room  that  modern  civilization  demands. 

Now  that  the  building  was  finished,  Mr.  Burke  almost 
regretted  that  he  had  not  constructed  it  upon  the  top  of 
a  hill  in  order  that  he  might  have  laid  his  smooth  and 
slippery  timbers  from  the  eminence  to  the  side  of  Mrs. 
Cliffs  house,  so  that  when  all  should  be  ready  he  could 
have  knocked  away  the  blocks  which  held  the  building, 
so  that  he  could  have  launched  it  as  if  it  had  been  a 
ship,  and  could  have  beheld  it  sliding  gracefully  and 
rapidly  from  its  stocks  into  its  appointed  position. 
But  as  this  would  probably  have  resulted  in  razing 
Mrs.  Cliffs  old  house  to  the  level  of  the  grouud,  he 


ARRIVAL   OF   THE   NEW   DINING-ROOM          107 

did  not  long  regret  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  afford 
himself  the  pleasure  of  this  grand  spectacle. 

The  night  before  the  day  on  which  the  new  building 
was  to  be  moved,  the  lot  next  to  Mrs.  Cliff's  house  was 
covered  by  masons,  laborers,  and  wagons  hauling  stones, 
and  by  breakfast-time  the  next  morning  the  new  cellar 
was  completed. 

Almost  immediately  the  great  timbers,  which,  polished 
and  greased,  had  been  waiting  for  several  days,  were  put 
in  their  places,  and  the  great  steam  engines  and  wind 
lasses,  which  had  been  ready  as  long  a  time,  were  set 
in  motion.  And,  as  the  house  began  to  move  upon  its 
course,  it  almost  missed  a  parting  dab  from  the  brush  of 
a  painter  who  was  at  work  upon  some  final  trimming. 

That  afternoon,  as  Mrs.  Cliff  happened  to  be  .in  her 
dining-room,  she  remarked  to  Willy  that  it  was  getting 
dark  very  early,  but  she  would  not  pull  up  the  blind 
of  the  side  window,  because  she  would  then  look  out  on 
the  new  cellar,  and  she  had  promised  Mr.  Burke  not  to 
look  at  anything  until  he  had  told  her  to  do  so.  Willy, 
who  had  looked  out  of  the  side  door  at  least  fifty  times 
that  day,  knew  that  the  early  darkness  was  caused  by 
the  shadows  thrown  by  a  large  building  slowly  approach 
ing  from  the  west. 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  came  downstairs  the  next  morning 
she  was  met  by  Willy,  very  much  excited,  who  told  her 
that  Mr.  Burke  wished  to  see  her. 

"  Where  is  he  ?  "  said  she.  "  At  the  dining-room 
door,"  answered  Willy,  and  as  Mrs.  Cliff  turned 
towards  the  little  room  in  which  she  had  been  accus- 


108  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

tomed  to  take  her  meals,  Willy  seized  her  hand  and 
led  her  into  the  side  hall.  There,  in  the  open  door 
way,  stood  Mr.  Burke,  his  high  silk  hat  in  one  hand, 
and  the  other  outstretched  towards  her. 

"  Welcome  to  your  new  dining-room,  madam ! "  said 
he,  as  he  took  her  hand  and  led  her  into  the  great  room, 
which  seemed  to  her,  as  she  gazed  in  amazement  about 
her,  like  a  beautiful  public  hall. 

We  will  not  follow  Mrs.  Cliff,  Willy,  and  the  whole 
body  of  domestic  servants,  as  they  passed  through  the 
halls  and  rooms  of  that  grand  addition  to  Mrs.  Cliffs 
little  house. 

"  Carpets  and  furniture  is  all  that  you  want,  madam  ! " 
said  Burke,  "and  then  you're  at  home ! " 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  had  been  upstairs  and  downstairs, 
and  into  every  chamber,  and  when  she  had  looked  out 
of  the  window  and  had  beheld  hundreds  of  men  at  work 
upon  the  grounds  and  putting  up  fences ;  and  when  Mr. 
Burke  had  explained  to  her  that  the  people  at  the  back 
of  the  lot  were  beginning  to  erect  a  stable  and  carriage 
house, — for  no  dining-room  such  as  she  had  was  com 
plete,  he  assured  her,  without  handsome  quarters  for 
horses  and  carriages,  —  she  left  him  and  went  down 
stairs  by  herself. 

As  she  stood  by  the  great  front  door  and  looked  up  at 
the  wide  staircase,  and  into  the  lofty  rooms  upon  each 
side,  there  came  to  her,  rising  above  all  sentiments  of 
amazement,  delight,  and  pride  in  her  new  possessions,  a 
feeling  of  animated  and  inspiring  encouragement.  The 
mists  of  doubt  and  uncertainty,  which  had  hung  over  her, 


THE   THORPEDYKE   SISTERS  109 

began  to  clear  away.  This  noble  edifice  must  have  cost 
grandly !  And,  for  the  first  time,  she  began  to  feel  that 
she  might  yet  be  equal  to  her  fortune. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   THORPEDYKE   SISTERS 

THE  new  and  grand  addition  to  Mrs.  Cliff's  house, 
which  had  been  so  planned  that  the  little  house  to 
which  it  had  been  joined  appeared  to  be  an  architect 
urally  harmonious  adjunct  to  it,  caused  a  far  greater 
sensation  in  Plainton  than  the  erection  of  any  of  the 
public  buildings  therein. 

Its  journey  from  the  corner  lot  was  watched  by  hun 
dreds  of  spectators,  and  now  Mrs.  Cliff,  Willy,  and  Mr. 
Burke  spent  day  and  evening  in  exhibiting  and  explain 
ing  this  remarkable  piece  of  building  enterprise. 

Mr.  Burke  was  very  jolly.  He  took  no  credit  to 
himself  for  the  planning  of  the  house,  which,  as  he 
truthfully  said,  had  been  the  work  of  an  architect  who 
had  suggested  what  was  proper  and  had  been  allowed  to 
do  it.  But  he  did  feel  himself  privileged  to  declare  that 
if  every  crew  building  a  house  were  commanded  by  a 
person  of  marine  experience,  things  would  move  along 
a  good  deal  more  briskly  than  they  generally  did,  and  to 
this  assertion  he  found  no  one  to  object. 

Mrs.  Cliff  was  very  happy  in  wandering  over  her  new 
rooms,  and  in  assuring  herself  that  no  matter  how  grand 


110  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

they  might  be  when  they  were  all  furnished  and  fitted 
up,  nothing  had  been  done  which  would  interfere  with 
the  dear  old  home  which  she  had  loved  so  long.  It  is 
true  that  one  of  the  windows  of  the  little  dining-room 
was  blocked  up,  but  that  window  was  not  needed. 

Mr.  Burke  was  not  willing  to  give  Mrs.  Cliff  more  than 
a  day  or  two  for  the  contemplation  of  her  new  posses 
sions,  and  urged  upon  her  that  while  the  chimneys  were 
being  erected  and  the  heating  apparatus  was  being  put 
into  the  house,  she  ought  to  attend  to  the  selection 
and  purchase  of  the  carpets,  furniture,  pictures,  and 
everything  which  was  needed  in  the  new  establishment. 

Mrs.  Cliff  thought  this  good  advice,  and  proposed  a 
trip  to  Boston ;  but  Burke  did  not  think  that  would  do 
at  all,  and  declared  that  New  York  was  the  only  place 
where  she  could  get  everything  she  needed.  Willy,  who 
was  to  accompany  Mrs.  Cliff,  had  been  to  Boston,  but 
had  never  visited  New  York,  and  she  strongly  urged 
the  claims  of  the  latter  city,  and  an  immediate  journey 
to  the  metropolis  was  agreed  upon. 

But  when  Mrs.  Cliff  considered  the  magnitude  and 
difficulties  of  the  work  she  was  about  to  undertake, 
she  wished  for  the  counsel  and  advice  of  some  one 
besides  Willy.  This  good  little  woman  was  energetic 
and  enthusiastic,  but  she  had  had  no  experience  in  regard 
to  the  furnishing  of  a  really  good  house. 

When,  in  her  mind,  she  was  running  over  the  names 
of  those  who  might  be  able  and  willing  to  go  with  her 
and  assist  her,  Mrs.  Cliff  suddenly  thought  of  the 
Thorpedyke  ladies,  and  there  her  mental  category 


THE   THORPEDYKE   SISTERS  111 

stopped  as  she  announced  to  Willy  that  she  was  going 
to  ask  these  ladies  to  go  with  them  to  New  York. 

AVilly  thought  well  of  this  plan,  but  she  had  her 
doubts  about  Miss  Barbara,  who  was  so  quiet,  domestic, 
and  unused  to  travel  that  she  might  be  unwilling  to  cast 
herself  into  the  din  and  whirl  of  the  metropolis.  But 
when  she  and  Mrs.  Cliff  went  to  make  a  call  upon  the 
Thorpedykes  and  put  the  question  before  them,  she 
was  very  much  surprised  to  find  that,  although  the  elder 
sister,  after  carefully  considering  the  subject,  announced 
her  willingness  to  oblige  Mrs.  Cliff,  Miss  Barbara  agreed 
to  the  plan  with  an  alacrity  which  her  visitors  had  never 
known  her  to  exhibit  before. 

As  soon  as  the  necessary  preparations  could  be  made, 
a  party  of  five  left  Plainton  for  New  York,  and  a  very 
well-assorted  party  it  was !  Mr.  Burke,  who  guided 
and  commanded  the  expedition,  supplied  the  impelling 
energy;  Mrs.  Cliff  had  her  check  book  with  her;  Willy 
was  ready  with  any  amount  of  enthusiasm ;  and  the 
past  life  of  Miss  Eleanor  Thorpedyke  and  her  sister 
Barbara  had  made  them  most  excellent  judges  of  what 
was  appropriate  for  the  worthy  furnishing  of  a  stately 
mansion. 

Their  youth  and  middle  life  had  been  spent  near 
Boston,  in  a  fine  old  house  which  had  been  the  home 
of  their  ancestors,  and  where  they  had  been  familiar 
with  wealth,  distinguished  society,  and  noble  hospitality. 
But  when  they  had  been  left  the  sole  representatives 
of  their  family,  and  when  misfortune  after  misfortune 
had  come  down  upon  them  and  swept  away  their  estates 


112  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

and  nearly  all  of  their  income,  they  had  retired  to  the 
little  town  of  Plainton  where  they  happened  to  own  a 
house. 

There,  with  nothing  saved  from  the  wreck  of  their 
prosperity  but  their  family  traditions,  and  some  of  the 
old  furniture  and  pictures,  they  had  settled  down  to 
spend  in  quiet  the  rest  of  their  lives. 

For  two  weeks  our  party  remained  in  New  York, 
living  at  one  of  the  best  hotels,  but  spending  nearly 
all  their  time  in  shops  and  streets. 

Mrs.  Cliff  was  rapidly  becoming  a  different  woman 
from  the  old  Mrs.  Cliff  of  Plainton.  At  the  time  she 
stepped  inside  of  the  addition  to  her  house  the  change 
had  begun,  and  now  it  showed  itself  more  and  more  each 
day.  She  had  seen  more  beautiful  things  in  Paris,  but 
there  she  looked  upon  them  with  but  little  thought  of 
purchasing.  In  New  York  whatever  she  saw  and  de 
sired  she  made  her  own. 

The  difference  between  a  mere  possessor  of  wealth 
and  one  who  uses  it  became  very  apparent  to  her.  Not 
until  now  had  she  really  known  what  it  was  to  be  a  rich 
woman.  Not  only  did  this  consciousness  of  power  swell 
her  veins  with  a  proud  delight,  but  it  warmed  and  invig 
orated  all  her  better  impulses.  She  had  always  been  of 
a  generous  disposition,  but  now  she  felt  an  intense  good 
will  toward  her  fellow-beings,  and  wished  that  other 
people  could  be  as  happy  as  she  was. 

She  thought  of  Mrs.  Ferguson  and  remembered  what 
she  had  said  about  her  daughters.  Ta  be  sure,  Mrs.  Fer 
guson  was  always  trying  to  get  people  to  do  things  for 


THE   THORPEDYKE   SISTERS  113 

her,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  did  not  fancy  that  class  of  women, 
but  now  her  wealth-warmed  soul  inclined  her  to  overlook 
this  prejudice,  and  she  said  to  herself  that  when  she  got 
home  she  would  make  arrangements  for  those  two  girls 
to  go  to  a  good  school ;  and,  more  than  that,  she  would 
see  to  it  that  Mr.  Ferguson  was  moved.  It  seemed  to 
her  just  then  that  it  would  be  a  very  cheerful  thing  to 
make  other  people  happy. 

The  taste  and  artistic  judgment  of  the  elder  Miss 
Thorpedyke,  which  had  been  dormant  for  years,  simply 
because  there  was  nothing  upon  which  they  could  exercise 
themselves,  now  awoke  in  their  old  vigor,  and  with  Mrs. 
Cliff's  good  sense,  reinforced  by  her  experience  gained 
in  wandering  among  the  treasures  of  Paris,  the  results  of 
the  shopping  expedition  were  eminently  satisfactory. 
And,  with  the  plan  of  the  new  building,  which  Mr.  Burke 
carried  always  with  him,  everything  which  was  likely  to 
be  needed  in  each  room,  hall,  or  stairway,  was  selected 
and  purchased,  and  as  fast  as  this  was  done,  the  things 
were  shipped  to  Plainton,  where  people  were  ready  to 
put  them  where  they  belonged. 

Willy  Croup  was  not  always  of  service  in  the  purchas 
ing  expeditions,  for  she  liked  everything  that  she  saw, 
and  no  sooner  was  an  article  produced  than  she  went  into 
ecstasies  over  it ;  but  as  she  had  an  intense  desire  to  see 
everything  which  New  York  contained,  she  did  not  at  all 
confine  herself  to  the  shops  and  bazaars.  She  went 
wherever  she  could  and  saw  all  that  it  was  possible  for 
her  to  see ;  but  in  the  midst  of  the  sights  and  attractions 
of  the  metropolis  she  was  still  Willy  Croup. 


114  MKS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

One  afternoon  as  she  and  Miss  Barbara  were  passing 
along  one  of  the  side  streets  on  their  return  from  an  at 
tempt  to  see  how  the  poorer  people  lived,  Willy  stopped 
in  front  of  a  blacksmith's  shop  where  a  man  was  shoeing 
a  horse. 

"  There ! "  she  exclaimed,  her  eyes  sparkling  with  de 
light,  "  that's  the  first  thing  I've  seen  that  reminds  me  of 
home ! " 

"It  is  nice,  isn't  it! "  said  gentle  Miss  Barbara. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MONEY   HUNGER 

DURING  the  latter  part  of  their  sojourn  in  the  city, 
Willy  went  about  a  good  deal  with  Miss  Barbara  because 
she  thought  this  quiet,  soft-spoken  lady  was  not  happy  and 
did  not  take  the  interest  in  handsome  and  costly  articles 
which  was  shown  by  her  sister.  She  had  been  afraid 
that  this  noisy  bustling  place  would  be  too  much  for  Miss 
Barbara,  and  now  she  was  sure  she  had  been  right 

The  younger  Miss  Thorpedyke  was  unhappy,  and  witli 
reason.  For  some  months  a  little  house  in  Boston  which 
had  been  their  principal  source  of  income  had  not  been 
rented.  It  needed  repairs,  and  there  was  no  money  with 
which  to  repair  it.  The  agent  had  written  that  some  one 
might  appear  who  would  be  willing  to  take  it  as  it  stood, 
but  that  this  was  doubtful,  and  the  heart  of  Miss  Bar 
bara  sank  very  low.  She  was  the  business  woman  of  the 


MONEY   HUNGER  115 

family.  She  it  was  who  had  always  balanced  the  income 
and  the  expenditures.  This  adjustment  had  now  become 
very  difficult  indeed,  and  was  only  accomplished  by  add 
ing  a  little  debt  to  the  weight  on  the  income  scale. 

She  had  said  nothing  to  her  sister  about  this  sad 
change  in  their  affairs  because  she  hoped  against  hope 
that  soon  they  might  have  a  tenant,  and  she  knew  that 
her  sister  Eleanor  was  a  woman  of  such  strict  and  punc 
tilious  honor  that  she  would  insist  upon  living  upon  plain 
bread,  if  their  supply  of  ready  money  was  insufficient  to 
buy  anything  else.  To  see  this  sister  insufficiently  nour 
ished  was  something  which  Miss  Barbara  could  not 
endure,  and  so,  sorely  against  her  disposition  and  her  con 
science,  she  made  some  little  debts ;  and  these  grew  and 
grew  until  at  last  they  weighed  her  down  until  she  felt 
as  if  she  must  always  look  upon  the  earth  and  could 
never  raise  her  head  to  the  sky.  And  she  was  so  plump, 
and  so  white,  and  gentle,  and  quiet,  and  peaceful  looking 
that  no  one  thought  she  had  a  care  in  the  world  until 
Willy  Croup  began  to  suspect  in  New  York  that  some 
thing  was  the  matter  with  her,  but  did  not  in  the  least 
attribute  her  friend's  low  spirits  to  the  proper  cause. 

When  Miss  Barbara  had  favored  so  willingly  and 
promptly  the  invitation  of  Mrs.  Cliff,  she  had  done  so 
because  she  saw  in  the  New  York  visit  a  temporary  abo 
lition  of  expense,  and  a  consequent  opportunity  to  lay  up 
a  little  money  by  which  she  might  be  able  to  satisfy  for 
a  time  one  of  her  creditors  who  was  beginning  to  suspect 
that  she  was  not  able  to  pay  his  bill,  and  was  therefore 
pressing  her  very  hard.  Even  while  she  had  been  in 


116  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

New  York,  this  many-times  rendered  bill  had  been  for 
warded  to  her  with  an  urgent  request  that  it  be 
settled. 

It  was  not  strange,  therefore,  that  a  tear  should  some 
times  come  to  the  eye  of  Miss  Barbara  when  she  stood 
by  the  side  of  her  sister  and  Mrs.  Cliff  and  listened  to 
them  discussing  the  merits  of  some  rich  rugs  or  pieces  of 
furniture,  and  when  she  reflected  that  the  difference  in 
price  between  two  articles,  one  apparently  as  desirable 
as  the  other,  which  was  discussed  so  lightly  by  Mrs.  Cliff 
and  Eleanor,  would  pay  that  bill  which  was  eating  into 
her  soul,  and  settle,  moreover,  every  other  claim  against 
herself  and  her  sister.  But  the  tears  were  always  wiped 
away  very  quickly,  and  neither  Mrs.  Cliff  nor  the  elder 
Miss  Thorpedyke  ever  noticed  them. 

But  although  Willy  Croup  was  not  at  all  a  woman  of 
acute  perceptions,  she  began  to  think  that  perhaps  it  was 
something  more  than  the  bustle  and  noise  of  New  York 
which  was  troubling  Miss  Barbara.  And  once,  when  she 
saw  her  gazing  with  an  earnest  eager  glare  —  and  who 
ever  would  have  thought  of  any  sort  of  a  glare  in  Miss 
Barbara's  eyes  —  upon  some  bank-notes  which  Mrs.  Cliff 
was  paying  out  for  a  carved  cabinet  for  which  it  was 
a  little  doubtful  if  a  suitable  place  could  be  found, 
but  which  was  bought  because  Miss  Eleanor  thought  it 
would  give  an  air  of  distinction  in  whatever  room  it 
might  be  placed,  Willy  began  to  suspect  the  meaning  of 
that  unusual  exhibition  of  emotion. 

"She's  money  hungry,"  she  said  to  herself,  "that's 
what's  the  matter  with  her ! "  Willy  had  seen  the  signs 


MONEY   HUNGER  117 

of  such  hunger  before,  and  she  understood  what  they 
meant. 

That  night  Willy  lay  in  her  bed,  having  the  very 
unusual  experience  of  thinking  so  much  that  she  could 
not  sleep.  Her  room  adjoined  Miss  Barbara's,  and  the 
door  between  them  was  partly  open,  for  the  latter  lady 
was  timid.  Perhaps  it  was  because  this  door  was  not 
closed  that  Willy  was  so  wakeful  and  thoughtful,  for 
there  was  a  bright  light  in  the  other  room,  and  she 
could  not  imagine  why  Miss  Barbara  should  be  sitting 
up  so  late.  It  was  a  proceeding  entirely  at  variance  with 
her  usual  habits.  She  was  in  some  sort  of  trouble,  it  was 
easy  to  see  that,  but  it  would  be  a  great  deal  better  to  go 
to  sleep  and  try  to  forget  it. 

So  after  a  time  Willy  rose,  and,  softly  stepping  over 
the  thick  carpet,  looked  into  the  other  room.  There  was 
Miss  Barbara  in  her  day  dress,  sitting  at  a  table,  her 
arms  upon  the  table,  her  head  upon  her  arms,  fast  asleep. 
Upon  her  pale  face  there  were  a  great  many  tear  marks, 
and  Willy  knew  that  she  must  have  cried  herself  to 
sleep.  A  paper  was  spread  out  near  her. 

Willy  was  sure  that  it  would  be  a  very  mean  and 
contemptible  thing  for  her  to  go  and  look  at  that  paper, 
and  so,  perhaps,  find  out  what  was  troubling  Miss  Bar 
bara,  but,  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  she  did  it. 
Her  bare  feet  made  no  sound  upon  the  carpet,  and  as 
she  had  very  good  eyes,  it  was  not  necessary  for  her  to 
approach  close  to  the  sleeper. 

It  was  a  bill  from  William  Bullock,  a  grocer  and  pro 
vision  dealer  of  Plainton.  It  contained  but  one  item,  — 


118  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

'  To  bill  rendered,'  and  at  the  bottom  was  a  statement  in 
Mr.  Bullock's  own  handwriting  to  the  effect  that  if  the 
bill  was  not  immediately  paid  he  would  be  obliged  to  put 
it  into  the  hands  of  a  collector. 

Willy  turned  and  slipped  back  into  her  room.  Then, 
after  sitting  down  upon  her  bed  and  getting  up  again, 
she  stepped  boldly  to  the  door  and  knocked  upon  it 
Instantly  she  heard  Miss  Barbara  start  and  push  back 
her  chair. 

"  What  are  you  doing  up  so  late  ? "  cried  Willy, 
cheerfully.  "Don't  you  feel  well?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  replied  the  other,  "I  accidentally  fell 
asleep  while  reading,  but  I  will  go  to  bed  instantly." 

The  mind  of  Willy  Croup  was  a  very  small  one  and 
had  room  in  it  for  but  one  idea  at  a  time.  For  a  good 
while  she  lay  putting  ideas  into  this  mind,  and  then 
taking  them  out  again.  Having  given  place  to  the 
conviction  that  the  Thorpedykes  were  in  a  very  bad 
way  indeed,  —  for  if  that  bill  should  be  collected,  they 
would  not  have  much  left  but  themselves,  and  Mr. 
Hullock  was  a  man  who  did  collect  when  he  said  he 
would,  —  she  was  obliged  to  remove  this  conviction, 
which  made  her  cry,  in  order  to  consider  plans  of  re 
lief;  and  while  she  was  considering  these  plans,  one 
at  a  time,  she  dropped  asleep. 

The  first  thing  she  thought  of  when  she  opened  her 
eyes  in  the  morning  was  poor  Miss  Barbara  in  the  next 
room,  and  that  dreadful  bill;  and  then,  like  a  flash  of 
lightning,  she  thought  of  a  good  thing  to  do  for  the 
Thorpedykes.  The  project  which  now  laid  itself  out, 


MONEY   HUNGER  119 

detail  after  detail,  before  her  seemed  so  simple,  so  sen 
sible,  so  absolutely  wise  and  desirable  in  every  way, 
that  she  got  up,  dressed  herself  with  great  rapidity, 
and  went  in  to  see  Mrs.  Cliff. 

That  lady  was  still  asleep,  but  Willy  awakened  her, 
and  sat  on  the  side  of  the  bed.  "Do  you  know  what 
I  think?"  said  Willy. 

"How  in  the  world  should  I!"  said  Mrs.  Cliff.  "Is 
it  after  breakfast-time  ?  " 

"No,"  said  Willy;  "but  it's  this!  What  are  you 
going  to  do  in  that  big  house,  with  all  the  bedrooms, 
parlor,  library,  and  so  forth?  You  say  that  you  are 
going  to  have  one  room,  and  that  I'm  to  have  another, 
and  that  we'll  go  into  the  old  house  to  feel  at  home 
whenever  we  want  to;  but  I  believe  we'll  be  like  a 
couple  of  flies  in  a  barrel !  You're  going  to  furnish 
your  new  house  with  everything  but  people !  You  ought 
to  have  more  people !  You  ought  to  have  a  family ! 
That  house  will  look  funny  without  people !  You  can't 
ask  Mr.  Burke,  because  it  would  be  too  queer  to  have 
him  come  and  live  with  us,  and  besides,  he'll  want  a 
house  of  his  own.  Why  don't  you  ask  the  Thorpedykes 
to  come  and  live  with  us  ?  Their  roof  is  dreadfully  out 
of  repairs.  I  know  to  my  certain  knowledge  that  they 
have  to  put  tin  wash-basins  on  every  bed  in  the  second 
story  when  it  rains,  on  account  of  the  holes  in  the 
shingles !  If  they  had  money  to  mend  those  holes, 
they'd  mend  them,  but  as  they  don't  mend  them,  of 
course  they  haven't  the  money.  And  it  strikes  me  that 
they  aren't  as  well  off  as  they  used  to  be,  and  they'll 


120  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

have  a  hard  time  gettin'  through  this  winter.  Now, 
there  isn't  any  piece  'of  furniture  that  you  can  put  in 
your  house  that  will  give  it  '  such  an  air  of  distinction,' 
as  Miss  Eleanor  calls  it,  as  she  herself  will  give  it  if  you 
put  her  there !  If  you  could  persuade  Miss  Eleanor  to 
come  and  sit  in  your  parlor  when  you  are  having  com 
pany  to  see  you,  it  would  set  you  up  in  Plainton  a  good 
deal  higher  than  any  money  can  set  you  up." 

"  They  would  never  agree  to  anything  of  the  kind," 
said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "  and  you  know  it,  Willy  !  " 

"  I  don't  believe  it,"  said  Willy.  "  I  believe  they'd 
come !  Just  see  how  willing  they  were  to  come  here 
with  you !  I  tell  you,  Sarah,  that  the  older  and  older 
those  Thorpedyke  ladies  get,  the  more  timid  they  get, 
and  the  more  unwilling  to  live  by  themselves  ! 

"  If  you  make  Miss  Eleanor  understand  that  it  would 
be  the  greatest  comfort  and  happiness  to  both  of  us  if 
she  would  come  and  spend  the  winter  with  you,  and  so 
help  you  to  get  used  to  your  great  big  new  house ;  and 
more  than  that,  if  they'd  bring  with  them  some  of  their 
candle-sticks  and  pictures  on  ivory  and  that  sort  of  thing, 
which  everybody  knows  can't  be  bought  for  money,  it 
would  be  the  great  accommodation  to  you  and  make  your 
house  look  something  like  what  you  would  like  to  have 
it.  I  believe  that  old-family  lady  would  come  and  stay 
with  you  this  winter,  and  think  all  the  time  that  she  was 
giving  you  something  that  you  ought  to  have  and  which 
nobody  in  Plainton  could  give  you  but  herself.  And  as 
to  Miss  Barbara,  she'd  come  along  as  quick  as  light 
ning  ! " 


A   PHILANTHROPIC   DIPLOMATIST  121 

"Willy,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  very  earnestly,  "have  you 
any  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  Thorpedykes  are  in 
money  trouble  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  have,"  said  Willy,  "I'm  positive  of  it,  and 
what's  more,  it's  only  Miss  Barbara  who  knows  it ! " 

Mrs,  Cliff  sat  for  some  minutes  without  answering,  and 
then  she  said,  "  Willy,  you  do  sometimes  get  into  your 
head  an  idea  that  absolutely  sparkles  !  " 


CHAPTER  XIV 

WILLY  CROUP  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIC  DIPLOMATIST 

MRS.  CLIFF  was  late  to  breakfast  that  day,  and  the 
reason  was  that  thinking  so  much  about  what  Willy  had 
said  to  her  she  had  been  very  slow  in  dressing.  As  soon 
as  she  had  a  chance,  Mrs.  Cliff  took  Willy  aside  and  told 
her  that  she  had  determined  to  adopt  her  advice  about 
the  Thorpedykes. 

"  The  more  I  think  of  the  plan,"  she  said,  "  the  better  I 
like  it !  But  we  must  be  very,  very  careful  about  what 
we  do.  If  Miss  Eleanor  suspects  that  I  invite  them  to 
come  to  my  house  because  I  think  they  are  poor,  she  will 
turn  into  solid  stone,  and  we  will  find  we  cannot  move 
her  an  inch,  —  but  I  think  I  can  manage  it !  When  we 
go  home,  I  will  tell  them  how  pleasant  we  found  it 
for  us  all  to  be  together,  and  speak  of  the  loneliness 
of  my  new  big  house.  If  I  can  get  Miss  Eleanor 
to  believe  that  she  is  doing  me  a  favor,  she  may  be 


122  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

willing  to  come  ;  but  on  no  account,  Willy,  do  you  say  a 
word  to  either  of  them  about  this  plan.  If  you  do,  you 
will  spoil  everything,  for  that's  your  way,  Willy,  and 
you  know  it !  " 

Willy  promised  faithfully  that  she  would  not  interfere 
in  the  least;  but  although  she  was  perfectly  satisfied 
with  this  arrangement,  she  was  not  happy.  How  could 
she  be  happy  knowing  what  she  did  about  Miss  Barbara  ? 
That  poor  lady  was  looking  sadder  than  ever,  and  Willy 
was  very  much  afraid  that  she  had  had  another  letter 
from  that  horrid  Mr.  Bullock,  with  whom,  she  was  de 
lighted  to  think,  Mrs.  Cliff  had  never  dealt. 

It  would  be  some  days  yet  before  they  would  go  home 
and  make  the  new  arrangement,  and  then  there  would  be 
the  bill  and  the  collector,  and  all  that  horrid  business, 
and  if  Miss  Eleanor  found  out  the  condition  of  affairs,  — 
and  if  the  bill  \vas  not  paid,  she  must  find  out,  —  she 
would  never  come  to  them.  She  would  probably  stay 
at  home  and  live  on  bread ! 

Now,  it  so  happened  that  Willy  had  in  her  own  pos 
session  more  than  enough  money  to  pay  that  wretched 
Bullock  bill.  Mrs.  Cliff  made  her  no  regular  allowance, 
but  she  had  given  her  all  the  money  that  she  might 
reasonably  expect  to  spend  in  New  York,  and  Willy  had 
spent  but  very  little  of  it,  for  she  found  it  the  most  diffi 
cult  thing  in  the  world  to  select  what  it  was  she  wanted 
out  of  all  the  desirable  things  she  saw. 

It  would  rejoice  her  heart  to  transfer  this  money  to 
Miss  Barbara;  but  how  in  the  world  could  she  do  it? 
She  first  thought  that  she  might  offer  to  buy  something 


A    PHILANTHROPIC   DIPLOMATIST  123 

that  was  in  the  Thovpedyke  house,  but  she  knew 
this  idea  was  absurd.  Then  she  thought  of  mention 
ing,  in  an  off-hand  way,  that  she  would  like  to  put 
some  money  out  at  interest,  and  thus,  perhaps,  induce 
Miss  Barbara  to  propose  a  business  transaction.  But 
this  would  not  do.  Even  Miss  Barbara  would  sus 
pect  some  concealed  motive.  Idea  after  idea  came 
to  her,  but  she  could  think  of  no  satisfactory  plan 
of  getting  that  money  into  Miss  Barbara's  posses 
sion. 

She  did  not  go  out  with  the  party  that  morning,  but 
sat  in  her  room  trying  in  vain  to  solve  this  problem. 
At  last  she  gave  it  up  and  determined  to  do  what  she 
wanted  to  do  without  any  plan  whatever. 

She  went  into  Miss  Barbara's  room  and  placed  upon 
the  table,  in  the  very  spot  where  the  bill  had  been  lying, 
some  bank-notes,  considerably  more  than  sufficient  to 
pay  the  amount  of  the  bill,  which  amount  she  well 
remembered.  It  would  not  do  to  leave  just  money 
enough,  for  that  would  excite  suspicion.  And  so  placing 
Miss  Barbara's  hair-brush  upon  the  bank-notes,  so  that 
she  would  be  sure  not  to  overlook  them,  for  she  would 
not  think  of  going  down  to  luncheon  without  brushing 
her  hair,  Willy  retired  to  her  own  room,  nearly  closing 
the  door,  leaving  only  a  little  crack  through  which  she 
might  see  if  any  servant  entered  the  room  before  Miss 
Barbara  came  back. 

Then  Willy  set  herself  industriously  to  work  hemming 
a  pocket  handkerchief.  She  could  not  do  this  very  well, 
because  she  was  not  at  all  proficient  in  fine  sewing,  but 


124  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

she  worked  with  great  energy,  waiting  and  listening  for 
Miss  Barbara's  entrance. 

At  last,  after  a  long  time,  Willy  heard  the  outer  door 
of  the  other  room  open,  and  glancing  through  the  crack, 
she  saw  Miss  Barbara  enter.  Then  she  twisted  herself 
around  towards  the  window  and  began  to  sew  savagely, 
with  a  skill  much  better  adapted  to  the  binding  of  carpets 
than  to  any  sort  of  work  upon  cambric  handkerchiefs. 

In  a  few  minutes  she  heard  a  little  exclamation  in  the 
next  room,  and  then  her  door  was  opened  suddenly, 
without  the  customary  knock,  and  Miss  Barbara  marched 
in.  Her  face  was  flushed. 

"Willy  Croup,"  said  she,  "what  is  the  meaning  of 
that  money  on  my  table  ?  " 

"  Money  ?  "  said  Willy,  turning  towards  her  with  as 
innocent  an  expression  as  her  burning  cheeks  and  rap 
idly  winking  eyes  would  permit ;  "  what  do  you  mean  by 
—  money  ?  " 

Miss  Barbara  stood  silent  for  some  moments  while 
Willy  vainly  endeavored  to  thread  the  point  of  her 
needle. 

"  Willy,"  said  Miss  Barbara,  "  did  you  come  into  my 
room  last  night,  and  look  at  the  bill  which  was  on  my 
table  ?  " 

Now  Willy  dropped  her  needle,  thread,  and  handker 
chief,  and  stood  up. 

"  Yes,  I  did !  "  said  she.  Miss  Barbara  was  now  quite 
pale. 

"  And  you  read  the  note  which  Mr.  Bullock  had  put  at 
the  bottom  of  it  ?  " 


A   PHILANTHROPIC   DIPLOMATIST  125 

"  Yes,  I  read  it !  "  said  Willy. 

"And  don't  you  know,"  said  the  other,  "that  to  do 
such  a  thing  was  most  —  " 

"  Yes,  I  do !  "  interrupted  Willy.  "  I  knew  it  then 
and  I  know  it  now,  but  I  don't  care  any  more  now  than 
I  did  then !  I  put  it  there  because  I  wanted  to !  And 
if  you'll  take  it,  Miss  Barbara,  and  pay  it  back  to  me 
any  time  when  you  feel  like  it,  —  and  you  can  pay  me 
interest  at  ten  per  cent  if  you  want  to,  and  that  will 
make  it  all  right,  you  know ;  and  oh,  Miss  Barbara !  I 
know  all  about  that  sort  of  bill,  because  they  used  to 
come  when  my  father  was  alive.  And  if  you'd  only 
take  it,  you  don't  know  how  happy  I  would  be ! " 

At  this  she  began  to  cry,  and  then  Miss  Barbara  burst 
into  tears,  and  the  two  sat  down  beside  each  other  on  a 
lounge  and  cried  earnestly,  hand  in  hand,  for  nearly  ten 
minutes. 

"  I'm  so  glad  you'll  take  it ! "  said  Willy,  when  Miss 
Barbara  went  into  her  room,  "and  you  may  be  just  as 
sure  as  you're  sure  of  anything  that  nobody  but  our  two 
selves  will  ever  know  anything  about  it ! " 

Immediately  after  luncheon  Miss  Barbara  went  by 
herself  to  the  post-office,  and  when  she  came  back  her 
sister  said  to  her  that  New  York  must  just  be  beginning 
to  agree  with  her. 

"  It  is  astonishing,"  said  Miss  Eleanor,  "  how  long  it 
takes  some  people  to  get  used  to  a  change,  but  it  often 
happens  that  if  one  stays  long  enough  in  the  new  place, 
great  benefit  will  be  experienced,  whereas,  if  the  stay  is 
short,  there  may  be  no  good  result  whatever ! " 


126  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

That  afternoon  Mrs.  Cliff  actually  laughed  at  Miss 
Barbara — a  thing  she  had  never  done  before.  They  were 
in  a  large  jewelry  store  where  they  were  looking  at  clocks, 
and  Miss  Barbara,  who  had  evinced  a  sudden  interest  in 
the  beautiful  things  about  her,  called  Mrs.  Cliff's  atten 
tion  to  a  lovely  necklace  of  pearls. 

"If  I  were  you,"  said  Miss  Barbara,  "I  would  buy 
something  like  that !  I  should  not  want  to  wear  it,  per 
haps,  but  it  would  be  so  delightful  to  sit  and  look  at  it !  " 

The  idea  of  Miss  Barbara  thinking  of  buying  necklaces 
of  j>earls !  No  wonder  Mrs.  Cliff  laughed. 

When  the  party  returned  to  Plainton,  Mrs.  Cliff  was 
amazed  to  find  her  new  house  almost  completely  fur 
nished  ;  and  no  time  was  lost  in  proposing  the  Thorpe- 
dyke  project,  for  Mrs.  Cliff  felt  that  it  would  be  wise  to 
make  the  proposition  while  the  sense  of  companionship 
was  still  fresh  upon  them  all. 

Miss  Thorpedyke  was  very  much  surprised  when  the 
plan  was  proposed  to  her,  but  it  produced  a  pleasant 
effect  upon  her.  She  had  much  enjoyed  the  company  she 
had  been  in;  she  had  always  liked  society,  and  lately 
had  hail  very  little  of  it,  for  no  matter  how  good  and 
lovable  sisters  may  be,  they  are  sometimes  a  little  tire 
some  when  they  are  sole  companions. 

As  to  Barbara,  she  trembled  as  she  thought  of  Mrs. 
Cliff's  offer :  trembled  with  joy,  which  she  could  not 
repress ;  and  trembled  with  fear  that  her  sister  might  not 
accept  it.  But  it  was  of  no  use  for  her  to  say  anything, 
—  and  she  said  nothing.  Eleanor  always  decided  such 
questions  as  these. 


A    PHILANTHROPIC   DIPLOMATIST  127 

After  a  day's  consideration  Miss  Thorpedyke  came  to  a 
conclusion,  and  she  sent  Miss  Barbara  with  a  message  to 
Mrs.  Cliff  to  the  effect  that  as  the  winters  were  always 
lonely,  and  as  it  would  be  very  pleasant  for  them  all  to  be 
together,  she  would,  if  Mrs.  Cliff  thought  it  would  be  an 
advantage  to  her,  come  with  her  sister  and  live  in  some 
portion  of  the  new  building  which  Mrs.  Cliff  did  not  in 
tend  to  be  otherwise  occupied,  and  that  they  would  pay 
whatever  board  Mrs.  Cliff  thought  reasonable  and  proper ; 
but  in  order  to  do  this,  it  would  be  necessary  for  them  to 
rent  their  present  home.  They  would  offer  this  house 
fully  furnished,  •. —  reserving  the  privilege  of  removing 
the  most  valuable  heirlooms  which  it  now  contained,  and, 
as  soon  as  such  an  arrangement  could  be  made,  they 
would  be  willing  to  come  to  Mrs.  Cliff  and  remain  with 
her  during  the  winter. 

When  Miss  Barbara  had  heard  this  decision  her  heart 
'had  fallen !  She  knew  that  it  would  be  almost  impossible 
to  find  a  tenant  who  would  take  that  house,  especially 
for  winter  occupancy,  and  that  even  if  a  tenant  could  be 
found,  the  rent  would  be  very  little.  And  she  knew, 
moreover,  that  having  come  to  a  decision  Eleanor  could 
not  be  moved  from  it. 

She  found  Mr.  Burke  and  Willy  with  Mrs.  Cliff,  but 
as  he  knew  all  about  the  project  and  had  taken  great 
interest  in  it,  she  did  not  hesitate  to  tell  her  message 
before  him.  Mrs.  Cliff  was  very  much  disappointed. 

"  That  ends  the  matter !  "  said  she.  "  Your  house 
cannot  be  rented  for  the  winter ! " 

"  I  don't  know   about  that ! "   exclaimed  Mr.   Burke. 


128  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"By  George!  I'll  take  the  house  myself!  I  want  a 
house, — I  want  just  such  a  house;  I  want  it  furnished, 
—  except  I  don't  want  to  be  responsible  for  old  heirlooms, 
and  I'm  willing  to  pay  a  fair  and  reasonable  rent  for  it ; 
and  I'm  sure,  although  I  never  had  the  pleasure  of  being 
in  it,  it  ought  to  bring  rent  enough  to  pay  the  board  of 
any  two  ladies  any  winter,  wherever  they  might  be ! " 

"  But,  Mr.  Burke,"  Miss  Barbara  said,  her  voice  shak 
ing  as  she  spoke,  "  I  must  tell  you,  that  the  roof  is  very 
much  out  of  repair,  and  —  " 

"Oh,  that  doesn't  matter  at  all!"  said  Burke.  "A 
tenant,  if  he's  the  right  sort  of  tenant,  is  bound  to  put  a 
house  into  repair  to  suit  himself.  I'll  attend  to  the  roof 
if  it  needs  it,  you  may  be  sure  of  that !  And  if  it  doesn't 
need  it,  I'll  leave  it  just  as  it  is !  That'll  be  all  right, 
and  you  can  tell  your  sister  that  you've  found  a  tenant. 
I'm  getting  dreadfully  tired  of  living  at  that  hotel,  and 
a  house  of  my  own  is  somethin'  that  I've  never  had 
before  !  But  one  thing  I  must  ask  of  you,  Miss  Thorpe- 
dyke:  don't  say  anything  to  your  sister  about  tobacco 
smoke,  and  perhaps  she  will  never  think  of  it ! " 


CHAPTER  XV 

MISS    NANCY    MAKES    A    CALL 

IT  was  a  day  or  two  after  the  most  satisfactory  arrange 
ment  between  the  Thorpedykes,  Mrs.  Cliff,  and  Mr.  Burke 
had  been  concluded,  and  before  it  had  been  made  public, 
that  Miss  Nancy  Shott  came  to  call  upon  Mrs.  Cliff. 


MISS   NANCY   MAKES    A   CALL  129 

As  she  walked,  stiff  as  a  grenadier,  and  almost  as  tall, 
she  passed  by  the  new  building  without  turning  her  head 
even  to  glance  at  it,  and  going  directly  up  to  the  front 
door  of  the  old  house,  she  rang  the  bell. 

As  Mrs.  Cliff's  domestic  household  were  all  engaged  in 
the  new  part  of  the  building,  the  bell  was  not  heard,  and 
after  waiting  nearly  a  minute,  Miss  Shott  rang  it  again 
with  such  vigor  that  the  door  was  soon  opened  by  a  maid, 
who  informed  her  that  Mrs.  Cliff  was  not  at  home,  but 
that  Miss  Croup  was  in. 

"Very  well,"  said  Miss  Shott,  "I'll  see  her!"  and, 
passing  the  servant,  she  entered  the  old  parlor.  The 
maid  follow'ed  her. 

"  There's  no  fire  here,"  she  said.  "  Won't  you  please 
walk  into  the  other  part  of  the  house,  which  is  heated  ? 
Miss  Croup  is  over  there." 

"  No ! "  said  Miss  Shott,  seating  herself  upon  the  sofa. 
"  This  suits  me  very  well,  and  Willy  Croup  can  come  to 
me  here  as  well  as  anywhere  else  ! " 

Presently  Willy  arrived,  wishing  very  much  that  she 
also  had  been  out. 

"  Do  come  over  to  the  other  parlor,  Miss  Shott !  "  said 
she.  "There's  no  furnace  heat  here  because  Mrs.  Cliff 
didn't  want  the  old  house  altered,  and  we  use  this  room 
so  little  that  we  haven't  made  a  fire." 

"  I  thought  you  had  the  chimney  put  in  order ! "  said 
Miss  Shott,  without  moving  from  her  seat.  "  Doesn't  it 
work  right  ?  " 

Willy  assured  her  visitor  that  the  chimney  was  in 
good  condition  so  far  as  she  knew,  and  repeated  her 


130  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

invitation  to  come  into  a  wanner  room,  but  to  this  Miss 
Shott  paid  no  attention. 

"It's  an  old  saying,"  said  she,  "that  a  bad  chimney 
saves  fuel !  —  I  understand  that  you've  all  been  to  New 
York  shopping  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Willy,  laughing.  "It  was  a  kind  of  shop 
ping,  but  that's  not  exactly  what  I'd  call  it !  "  And  per 
ceiving  that  Miss  Shott  intended  to  remain  where  she 
was,  she  took  a  seat. 

"  Well,  of  course,"  said  Miss  Shott,  "  everybody's  got 
to  act  according  to  their  own  judgments  and  consciences ! 
If  I  was  going  to  buy  winter  things,  I'd  do  what  I  could 
to  help  the  business  of  my  own  town,  and  if  I  did  happen 
to  want  anything  I  couldn't  get  here,  I'd  surely  go  to 
Harrington,  where  the  people  might  almost  be  called 
neighbors ! " 

Willy  laughed  outright.  "  Oh,  Miss  Shott,"  she  said, 
"  you  couldn't  buy  the  things  we  bought,  in  Harrington ! 
I  don't  believe  they  could  be  found  in  Boston ! " 

"  I  was  speaking  about  myself,"  said  Miss  Nancy.  "  I 
could  find  anything  I  wanted  in  Harrington,  and  if  my 
wants  went  ahead  of  what  they  had  there,  I  should  say 
that  my  wants  were  going  too  far  and  ought  to  be 
curbed !  And  so  you  took  those  poor  old  Thorpedyke 
women  with  you.  I  expect  they  must  be  nearly  fagged 
out.  I  don't  see  how  the  oldest  one  ever  stood  being 
dragged  from  store  to  store  all  over  New  York,  as  she 
must  have  been!  She's  a  pretty  old  woman  and  can't 
be  expected  to  stand  even  what  another  woman,  younger 
than  she  is,  but  old  enough,  and  excited  by  having 


MISS   NANCY   MAKES    A    CALL  131 

money  to  spend,  can  stand !  It's  a  wonder  to  me  that 
you  brought  her  back  alive ! " 

"  Miss  Eleanor  came  back  a  great  deal  better  than  she 
was  when  she  left ! "  exclaimed  Willy,  indignantly. 
"  She'll  tell  you,  if  you  ask  her,  that  that  visit  to  New 
York  did  her  a  great  deal  of  good ! "  - 

"  No,  she  won't ! "  said  Miss  Shott,  "  for  she  don't 
speak  to  me.  It's  been  two  years  since  I  had  anything 
to  do  with  her !  " 

Willy  knew  all  about  the  quarrel  between  the  Thorpe- 
dyke  ladies  and  Nancy,  and  wished  to  change  the 
subject. 

"  Don't  you  want  to  go  and  look  at  the  new  part  of  the 
house  ?  "  she  said.  "  Perhaps  you'd  like  to  see  the  things 
we've  bought  in  New  York,  and  it's  cold  here ! " 

To  this  invitation  and  the  subsequent  remark  Miss 
Shott  paid  no  attention.  She  did  not  intend  to  give 
Willy  the  pleasure  of  showing  her  over  the  house,  and 
it  was  not  at  all  necessary,  for  she  had  seen  nearly 
everything  in  it. 

During  the  absence  of  Mrs.  Cliff  she  had  made  many 
visits  to  the  house,  and,  as  she  was  acquainted  with  the 
woman  who  had  been  left  in  charge,  she  had  examined 
every  room,  from  ground  to  roof,  and  had  scrutinized 
and  criticised  the  carpets  as  they  had  been  laid  and  the 
furniture  as  it  had  been  put  in  place. 

She  saw  that  Willy  was  beginning  to  shiver  a  little, 
and  was  well  satisfied  that  she  should  feel  cold.  It 
would  help  take  the  conceit  out  of  her.  As  for  herself, 
she  wore  a  warm  cloak  and  did  not  mind  a  cold  room. 


132  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"  I'm  told,"  she  said,  "  that  Mrs.  Cliff's  putting  up  a 
new  stable.  What  was  the  matter  with  the  old  one  ?  " 

"  It  wasn't  big  enough,"  said  Willy. 

"  It  holds  two  horses,  don't  it,  and  what  could  anybody 
want  more  than  that,  I'd  like  to  know ! " 

Willy  was  now  getting  a  little  out  of  temper. 

"  That's  not  enough  for  Mrs.  Cliff,"  she  said.  "  She's 
going  to  have  a  nice  carriage  and  a  pair  of  horses,  and 
a  regular  coachman,  not  Andrew  Marks ! " 

"  Well ! "  said  Miss  Shott,  and  for  a  few  moments  she 
sat  silent.  Then  she  spoke.  "I  suppose  Mrs.  Cliff's 
goin'  to  take  boarders." 

"  Boarders ! "  cried  Willy.  "  What  makes  you  say 
such  a  thing  as  that  ?  " 

"If  she  isn't,"  said  Miss  Shott,  "I  don't  see  what 
she'll  do  with  all  the  rooms  in  that  new  part  of  the 
house." 

"  She's  goin'  to  live  in  it,"  said  Willy.  "  That's  what 
she's  goin'  to  do  with  it ! " 

"  Boarders  are  very  uncertain,"  remarked  Miss  Shott, 
"  and  just  as  likely  to  be  a  loss  as  a  profit.  Mr.  Williams 
tried  it  at  the  hotel  summer  after  summer,  and  if  he 
couldn't  make  anything,  I  don't  see  how  Mrs.  Cliff  can 
expect  to." 

"  She  doesn't  expect  to  take  boarders,  and  you  know 
it ! "  said  Willy. 

Miss  Shott  folded  her  hands  upon  her  lap. 

"  It's  goin'  to  be  a  dreadful  hard  winter.  I  never  did 
see  so  many  acorns  and  chestnuts,  and  there's  more  cedar 
berries  on  the  trees  than  I've  ever  known  in  all  my  life ! 


MISS   NANCY   MAKES    A   CALL  133 

I  expect  there'll  be  awful  distress  among  the  poor,  and 
when  I  say  '  poor '  I  don't  mean  people  that's  likely  to 
suffer  for  food  and  a  night's  lodging,  but  respectable 
people  who  have  to  work  hard  and  calculate  day  and 
night  how  to  make  both  ends  meet.  These're  the  folks 
that're  goin'  to  suffer  in  body  and  mind  this  winter ;  and 
if  people  that's  got  more  money  than  they  know  what  to 
do  with,  and  don't  care  to  save  up  for  old  age  and  a 
rainy  day,  would  think  sometimes  of  their  deserving 
neighbors  who  have  to  pinch  and  suffer  when  they're 
going  round  buyin'  rugs  that  must  have  cost  at  least  as 
much  as  twenty  dollars  apiece  and  which  they  don't  need 
at  all,  there  bein'  carpet  already  on  the  floor,  it  would  be 
more  to  their  credit  and  benefit  to  their  fellow-beings. 
But,  of  course,  one  person's  conscience  isn't  another  per 
son's,  and  we've  each  got  to  judge  for  ourselves,  and  be 
judged  afterwards ! " 

Now  Willy  leaned  forward  in  her  chair,  and  her  eyes 
glistened.  As  her  body  grew  colder,  so  did  her  temper 
grow  warmer. 

"  If  it's  Mrs.  Cliff  you're  thinkin'  about,  Nancy  Shott," 
said  she,  "  I'll  just  tell  you  that  you're  as  wrong  as  you 
can  be  !  There  isn't  a  more  generous  and  a  kinder  per 
son  in  this  whole  town  than  Mrs.  Cliff  is,  and  she  isn't 
only  that  way  to-day,  but  she's  always  been  so,  whether 
she's  had  little  or  whether  she's  had  much ! " 

"  What  did  she  ever  do,  I'd  like  to  know  !  "  said  Miss 
Nancy.  "She's  lined  her  own  nest  pretty  well,  but 
•what's  she  ever  done  for  anybody  else  —  " 

"Now,  Nancy   Shott,"  said  Willy,  "you  know  she's 


134  MRS.  CUFF'S  YACHT 

been  doin'  for  other  people  all  her  life  whenever  she 
could !  She's  done  for  you  more  than  once,  as  I  happen 
to  know,  —  and  she's  done  for  other  neighbors  and  friends. 
And,  more  than  that,  she's  gone  abroad  to  do  good,  and 
that's  more  than  anybody  else  in  this  town's  done,  as  I 
know  of!" 

"  She  didn't  go  to  South  America  to  do  good  to  any 
body  but  herself,"  coolly  remarked  the  visitor. 

"  I'm  not  thinking  of  that ! "  said  Willy.  "  She  went 
there  on  business,  as  everybody  knows !  But  you  remem 
ber  well  enough  when  she  was  in  the  city,  and  I  was 
with  her,  when  the  dreadful  cholera  times  came  on! 
Everybody  said  that  there  wasn't  a  person  who  worked 
harder  and  did  more  for  the  poor  people  who  were 
brought  to  the  hospital  than  Sarah  did. 

"  She  worked  for  them  night  and  day ;  before  they 
were  dead  and  after  they  were  dead!  I  did  what  I 
could,  but  it  wasn't  nothin'  to  what  she  did !  Both  of 
us  had  been  buyin'  things,  and  makin'  them  up  for 
ourselves,  for  cotton  and  linen  goods  was  so  cheap  then. 
If  it  hadn't  been  for  the  troubles  which  came  on,  we'd 
had  enough  to  last  us  for  years !  But  Sarah  Cliff  isn't 
the  kind  of  woman  to  keep  things  for  herself  when 
they're  wanted  by  others,  and  when  she  had  given 
everything  that  she  had  to  those  poor  creatures  at  the 
hospitals,  she  took  my  things  without  as  much  as  takin' 
the  trouble  to  ask  me,  for  in  times  like  that  she  isn't 
the  woman  to  hesitate  when  she  thinks  she's  doin'  what 
ought  to  be  done,  and  at  one  time,  in  that  hospital,  there- 
was  eleven  corpses  in  my  night-gowns ! " 


MR.    BURKE   MAKES   A   CALL  135 

"  Horrible  ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Shott,  rising  to  her  feet. 
"  It  would  have  killed  me  to  think  of  such  a  thing  as 
that ! " 

"  Well,  if  it  would  have  killed  you,"  said  Willy,  "  there 
was  another  night-gown  left." 

"  If  you're  going  to  talk  that  way,"  said  Miss  Shott, 
"  I  might  as  well  go.  I  supposed  that  when  I  came 
here  I  would  at  least  have  been  treated  civilly ! " 


CHAPTEE   XVI 

MR.    BURKE    MAKES    A    CALL 

MRS.  CLIFF  now  began  her  life  as  a  rich  woman.  The 
Thorpedykes  were  established  in  the  new  building ;  her 
carriage  and  horses,  with  a  coachman  in  plain  livery, 
were  seen  upon  the  streets  of  Plainton ;  she  gave  dinners 
and  teas,  and  subscribed  in  a  modestly  open  way  to 
appropriate  charities;  she  extended  suitable  aid  to  the 
members  of  Mrs.  Ferguson's  family,  both  living  and  de 
parted;  and  the  fact  that  she  was  willing  to  help  in 
church  work  was  made  very  plain  by  a  remark  of  Miss 
Shott,  who,  upon  a  certain  Sunday  morning  at  the  con 
clusion  of  services,  happened  to  stop  in  front  of  Mrs. 
Cliff,  who  was  going  out  of  the  church. 

"  Oh,"  said  Miss  Shott,  suddenly  stepping  very  much 
to  one  side,  "I  wouldn't  have  got  in  your  way  if  I'd 
remembered  that  it  was  you  who  pays  the  new  choir ! " 

Mr.    Burke   established  himself    in  the   Thorpedyke 


136  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

house,  which  he  immediately  repaired  from  top  to  bot 
tom;  but  although  he  frequently  repeated  to  himself 
and  to  his  acquaintances  that  he  had  now  set  up  house 
keeping  in  just  the  way  that  he  had  always  wished  for, 
with  plenty  of  servants  to  do  everything  just  as  he  wanted 
it  done,  he  was  not  happy  nevertheless.  He  felt  the 
loss  of  the  stirring  occupation  which  had  so  delighted 
him,  and  his  active  mind  continually  looked  right  and 
left  for  something  to  do. 

He  spoke  with  Mrs.  Cliff  in  regard  to  the  propriety  of 
proposing  to  the  Thorpedykes  that  he  should  build  an 
addition  to  their  house,  declaring  that  such  an  addition 
would  make  the  old  mansion  ever  so  much  more  valu 
able,  and  as  to  the  cost,  he  would  arrange  that  so  that 
they  would  never  feel  the  payment  of  it  But  this 
suggestion  met  with  no  encouragement,  and  poor  Burke 
was  so  hard  put  to  it  for  something  to  occupy  his  mind 
that  one  day  he  asked  Mrs.  Cliff  if  she  had  entirely 
given  up  her  idea  of  employing  some  of  her  fortune 
for  the  benefit  of  the  native  Peruvians,  stating  that 
if  she  wanted  an  agent  to  go  down  there  and  to  attend 
to  that  sort  of  thing,  he  believed  he  would  be  glad  to 
go  himself. 

.  But  Mrs.  Cliff  did  not  intend  to  send  anything  to  the 
native  Peruvians.  According  to  the  arrangements  that 
Captain  Horn  had  made  for  their  benefit  they  would 
have  as  large  a  share  of  the  Incas'  gold  as  they  could 
possibly  claim,  and,  therefore,  she  did  not  feel  herself 
called  upon  to  do  anything.  "If  we  had  kept  it  all," 
she  said,  "  that  would  have  been  a  different  thing ! " 


MR.    BURKE   MAKES   A   CALL  137 

In  fact,  Mrs.  Cliff's  conscience  was  now  in  a  very  easy 
and  satisfied  condition.  She  did  not  feel  that  she  owed 
anything  to  her  fellow-beings  that  she  was  not  giving 
them,  or  that  she  owed  anything  to  herself  that  she 
was  not  giving  to  herself.  The  expenses  of  building 
and  of  the  improvements  to  her  spacious  grounds  had 
been  of  so  much  assistance  in  removing  the  plethora  of 
her  income  that  sho  was  greatly  encouraged.  She  felt 
that  she  now  had  her  fortune  under  control,  and  that 
she  herself  might  be  able  to  manage  it  for  the  future. 
Already  she  was  making  her  plans  for  the  next  year. 

Many  schemes  she  had  for  the  worthy  disposition  of 
her  wealth,  and  the  more  she  thought  of  them  and 
planned  their  details,  the  less  inclined  she  felt  to  leave 
for  an  hour  or  two  her  spacious  and  sumptuous  apart 
ments  in  the  new  building  and  go  back  to  her  little 
former  home  where  she  might  think  of  old  times  and 
relieve  her  mind  from  the  weight  of  the  novelty  and 
the  richness  of  her  new  dining-room  and  its  adjuncts. 

Often  as  she  sat  in  her  stately  drawing-room,  she 
longed  for  her  old  friend  Edna,  and  wished  that  she 
and  the  Captain  might  come  and  see  how  well  she  had 
used  her  share  of  the  great  fortune. 

But  Captain  Horn  and  his  wife  were  far  away.  Mrs. 
Cliff  had  frequent  letters  from  Edna,  which  described 
their  leisurely  and  delightful  travels  in  the  south  and 
west.  Their  minds  and  bodies  had  been  so  strained 
and  tired  by  hard  thinking  and  hard  work  that  all 
they  wanted  now  was  an  enjoyment  of  life  and  the 
world  as-  restful  and  as  tranquil  as  they  could  make 


138  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

it.  After  a  time  they  -Would  choose  some  happy  spot, 
and  make  for  themselves  a  home.  Three  of  the  negroes, 
Maka  and  Cheditafa  and  Mok,  were  with  them,  and  the 
others  had  been  left  on  a  farm  where  they  might  study 
methods  of  American  agriculture  until  the  time  should 
come  when  the  Captain  should  require  their  services  on 
his  estate. 

Ralph  was  in  Boston,  where,  in  spite  of  his  indepen 
dent  ideas  in  regard  to  his  education,  he  was  preparing 
himself  to  enter  Harvard. 

"I  know  what  the  Captain  means  when  he  speaks 
of  settling  down!"  said  Burke  when  he  heard  of  this. 
"  He'll  buy  a  cailon  and  two  or  three  counties  and  live 
out  there  like  a  lord !  And  if  he  does  that,  I'll  go  out 
and  see  him.  I  want  to  see  this  Inca  money  sprouting 
and  flourishing  a  good  deal  more  than  it  has  done  yet! " 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Mrs.  Cliff.  "Don't 
you  call  this  splendid  house  and  everything  in  it  a 
sign  of  sprouting  and  flourishing  ?  " 

"Oh,  my  dear  madam,"  said  Burke,  rising  from  his 
seat  and  walking  the  floor,  "if  you  could  have  looked 
through  the  hole  in  the  top  of  the  mound  and  have 
seen  under  you  cartloads  and  cartloads  of  pure  gold, 
and  had  let  your  mind  rest  on  what  might  have  grown 
out  of  it,  a  house  like  this  would  have  seemed  like  an 
acorn  on  an  oak  tree ! " 

"And  you  think  the  Captain  will  have  the  oak  tree.?  " 
she  asked. 

"  Yes,"  said  Burke ;  "  I  think  he's  the  sort  of  man  to 
want  it,  and  if  he  wants  it  he'll  have  it ! " 


MR.    BURKE   MAKES    A   CALL  139 

There  were  days  when  the  weather  was  very  bad  and 
time  hung  unusually  heavy  upon  Mr.  Burke's  hands, 
when  he  thought  it  might  be  a  good  thing  to  get  married. 
He  had  a  house  and  money  enough  to  keep  a  wife  as 
well  as  any  woman  who  would  have  him  had  any  reason 
to  expect.  But  there  were  two  objections  to  this  plan. 
In  the  first  place,  what  would  he  do  with  his  wife  after 
he  got  tired  of  living  in  the  Thorpedyke  house;  and 
secondly,  where  could  he  find  anybody  he  would  like 
to  marry  ? 

He  had  female  acquaintances  in  Plainton,  but  not  one 
of  them  seemed  to  have  the  qualifications  he  would 
desire  in  a  wife.  Willy  Croup  was  a  good-natured  and 
pleasant  woman,  and  he  always  liked  to  talk  to  her, 
but  she  was  too  old  for  him.  He  might  like  to  adopt 
her  as  a  maiden  aunt,  but  then  that  would  not  be 
practicable,  for  Mrs.  Cliff  would  not  be  willing  to  give 
her  up. 

At  this  time  Burke  would  have  gone  to  make  a  visit 
to  his  mother,  but  there  was  also  an  objection  to  this. 
He  would  not  have  dared  to  present  himself  before  her 
in  his  fur-trimmed  overcoat  and  his  high  silk  hat.  She 
was  a  true  sailor's  mother,  and  she  would  have  laughed 
him  to  scorn,  and  so  habituated  had  he  become  to  the 
dress  of  a  fine  gentleman  that  it  would  have  seriously 
interfered  with  his  personal  satisfaction  to  put  on  the 
rough  winter  clothes  in  which  his  mother  would  expect 
to  see  him. 

The  same  reason  prevented  him  from  going  to  his  old 
friend  Shirley.  He  knew  very  well  that  Shirley  did  not 


140  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

wear  a  high  silk  hat  and  carry  a  cane,  and  he  had  a 
sufficient  knowledge  of  Imman  nature  and  of  himself  to 
know  that  if  his  present  personal  appearance  were  made 
the  subject  of  ridicule,  or  even  inordinate  surprise,  it 
would  not  afford  him  the  same  stimulating  gratification 
which  he  now  derived  from  it. 

Fortunately  the  weather  grew  colder,  and  there  was 
snow  and  excellent  sleighing,  and  now  Burke  sent  for  a 
fine  double  sleigh,  and,  with  a  fur  cap,  a  great  fur  collar 
over  his  overcoat,  fur  gloves,  and  an  enormous  lap-robe 
of  fur,  he  jingled  and  glided  over  the  country  in  great 
delight,  enjoying  the  sight  of  the  fur-garbed  coachman 
in  front  of  him  almost  as  much  as  the  glittering  snow 
and  the  crisp  fresh  air. 

He  invited  the  ladies  of  the  Cliff  mansion  to  accom 
pany  him  in  these  sleigh-rides,  but  although  the  Misses 
Thorpedyke  did  not  fancy  such  cold  amusement,  Mrs. 
Cliff  and  Willy  went  with  him  a  few  times,  and  once 
Willy  accompanied  him  alone. 

This  positively  decided  the  opinion  of  Plainton  in  re- 
gard  to  his  reason  for  living  in  that  town.  But  there 
were  those  who  said  that  he  might  yet  discover  that  his 
plans  would  not  succeed.  Mrs.  Cliff  now  seemed  to  be 
in  remarkably  good  health,  and  as  it  was  not  likely  that 
Mr.  Burke  would  actually  propose  marriage  to  Willy 
until  he  saw  some  signs  of  failing  in  Mrs.  Cliff,  he  might 
have  to  wait  a  long,  long  time;  during  which  his  in 
tended  victim  would  probably  grow  so  wrinkled  and  old 
that  even  the  most  debased  of  fortune-hunters  would 
refuse  to  have  her.  Then,  of  course,  the  fine  gentleman 


MR.   BUKKE   MAKES   A   CALL  141 

would  find  out  that  he  had  lost  all  the  time  he  had  spent 
scheming  here  in  Plainton. 

The  Buskirks  were  spending  this  winter  in  their 
country  home,  and  one  afternoon  Mr.  Burke  thought  he 
would  drive  up  in  his  sleigh  and  make  a  call  upon  them. 
He  had  been  there  before,  but  had  seen  no  one,  and  some 
weeks  afterward  Mr.  Buskirk  had  dropped  in  at  the  hotel, 
but  had  not  found  him.  This  sort  of  visiting  did  not 
suit  our  friend  Burke,  and  he  determined  to  go  and  see 
what  a  Buskirk  was  really  like. 

Having  jingled  and  pranced  up  to  the  front  of  the 
handsome  mansion  on  the  hill,  and  having  been  informed 
that  the  gentleman  of  the  house  was  not  at  home,  he 
asked  for  his  lady,  and,  as  she  was  in,  he  was  ushered 
into  a  parlor.  Here,  having  thrown  aside  some  of  his 
superincumbent  furs,  George  Burke  sat  and  looked  about 
him.  He  had  plenty  of  time  for  observation,  for  it  was 
long  before  Mrs.  Buskirk  made  her  appearance. 

With  the  exception  of  Mrs.  Cliff's  house,  with  which 
he  had  had  so  much  to  do,  Burke  had  never  before  been 
inside  a  dwelling  belonging  to  a  very  rich  person,  and 
the  Buskirk  mansion  interested  him  very  much.  Although 
he  was  so  little  familiar  with  fine  furniture,  pictures, 
and  bric-a-brac,  he  was  a  man  of  quick  perceptions  and 
good  judgment,  and  it  did  not  take  him  long  to  discover 
that  the  internal  furnishings  of  the  Buskirk  house  were 
far  inferior  to  those  of  the  addition  to  Mrs.  Cliff's  old 
home. 

The  room  in  which  he  sat  was  large  and  pretentious, 
but  when  it  had  been  furnished  there  had  been  no  lady 


142  MKS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

of  good  family  accustomed  to  the  furnishings  of  wealth 
and  culture,  and  with  an  artistic  taste  gained  in  travel 
at  home  and  abroad,  to  superintend  the  selection  of  these 
pictures,  this  carpet,  and  the  coverings  of  this  furniture ! 

He  laughed  within  himself  as  he  sat,  his  fur  cape  on 
his  knees  and  his  silk  hat  in  his  hand,  and  he  was  so 
elated  and  pleased  with  the  knowledge  of  the  superiority 
of  Mrs.  Cliffs  home  over  this  house  of  the  proud  city 
people  who  had  so  long  looked  down  upon  Plaiutou,  that 
he  entirely  forgot  his  intention  of  recalling,  as  he  sat  in 
the  fine  parlor  of  the  Buskirks,  the  olden  times  when  he 
used  to  get  up  early  in  the  morning  and  swab  the  deck. 

"  These  people  ought  to  come  down  and  see  Mrs. 
Cliffs  house,"  thought  Burke,  "  and  I'll  make  them  do  it 
if  I  can ! " 

When  Mrs.  Buskirk,  a  lady  who  had  always  found  it 
necessary  to  place  strong  guards  around  her  social  posi 
tion,  made  her  appearance,  she  received  her  visitor  with 
an  attentive  civility.  She  had  been  impressed  by  his 
appearance  when  she  had  seen  him  grandly  careering 
in  his  barouche  or  his  sleigh,  and  she  was  still  more  im 
pressed  as  she  saw  him  in  her  parlor  with  additional 
furs.  She  had  heard  he  had  been  a  sailor,  but  now  as 
she  talked  to  him,  the  belief  grew  upon  her  that  he  might 
yet  make  a  very  good  sailor.  He  was  courteous,  en 
tirely  at  his  ease,  and  perhaps  a  little  too  bland,  and  Mrs. 
Buskirk  thought  that  although  her  husband  might  like  to 
sit  and  smoke  with  this  well-dressed,  sun-burned  man,  he 
was  not  a  person  very  desirable  for  the  society  of  her 
self  and  daughters. 


MR.    BURKE   MAKES   A   CALL  143 

But  she  was  willing  to  sit  and  talk  to  Mr.  Burke,  for 
she  wanted  to  ask  him  some  questions  about  Mrs.  Cliff. 
She  had  heard  about  that  lady's  new  house,  or  rather  the 
improvement  to  her  old  one,  and  she  had  driven  past  it, 
and  she  did  not  altogether  understand  the  state  of 
affairs. 

She  had  known  that  Mrs.  Cliff  was  a  widow  of  a  store 
keeper  of  the  town,  and  that  she  had  come  into  posses 
sion  of  a  portion  of  a  treasure  which  had  been  discovered 
somewhere  in  the  West  Indies  or  South  America,  but 
those  portions  of  treasures  which  might  be  allotted  to 
the  widow  of  a  storekeeper  in  a  little  country  town  were 
not  likely  to  be  very  much,  and  Mrs.  Buskirk  was  anx 
ious  to  know  something  definite  about  Mrs.  Cliff's  pres 
ent  circumstances. 

Burke  felt  a  little  embarrassed  in  regard  to  his  an 
swers.  He  knew  that  Mrs.  Cliff  was  very  anxious  not  to 
appear  as  a  millionnaire  in  the  midst  of  the  friends  and 
associations  of  her  native  town,  —  at  least,  that  she  did 
not  desire  to  do  so  until  her  real  financial  position  had 
been  gradually  understood  and  accepted.  Nothing  she 
would  dislike  so  much  as  to  be  regarded  as  the  people  in 
her  social  circle  regarded  the  Buskirks  on  the  hill. 

So  Burke  did  not  blaze  out  as  he  would  have  liked  to 
do  with  a  true  and  faithful  statement  of  Mrs.  Cliff's 
great  wealth,  —  far  in  excess,  he  was  very  sure,  of  that 
of  the  fine  lady  with  whom  he  was  talking,  —  but  he  said 
everything  he  could  in  a  modest  way,  or  what  seemed  so 
to  him,  in  regard  to  his  friend's  house  and  belongings. 

"  But  it  seems  to  me,"  said  Mrs.  Buskirk,  "  that  it's  a 


144  Mits.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

very  strange  thing  for  any  one  to  build  a  house,  such  as 
the  one  you  describe,  in  such  a  neighborhood,  when 
there  are  so  many  desirable  locations  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  town.  The  houses  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street 
are  very  small,  some  of  them  even  mean ;  if  I  am  not 
mistaken  there  is  a  little  shop  somewhere  along  there! 
I  should  consider  that  that  sort  of  thing  would  spoil  any 
house,  no  matter  how  good  it  might  be  in  itself ! " 

"  Oh,  that  makes  no  difference  whatever  !  "  said  Burke, 
with  a  wave  of  his  hand,  and  delighted  to  remember  a 
proposition  he  had  made  to  Mrs.  Cliff  and  which  she 
had  viewed  with  favor.  4<;  Mrs.  Cliff  will  soon  settle  all 
that!  She's  going  to  buy  that  whole  block  opposite  to 
her  and  make  a  park  of  it.  She'll  clear  away  all  the 
houses  and  everything  belonging  to  them,  and  she'll 
plant  trees,  and  lay  out  lawns  and  driveways,  and  have  a 
regular  landscape  gardener  who'll  superintend  every 
thing.  And  she's  going  to  have  the  water  brought  in 
pipes  which  will  end  in  some  great  rocks,  which  we'll 
have  hauled  from  the  woods,  and  from  under  these  rocks 
a  brook  will  flow  and  meander  through  the  park.  And 
there'll  be  flowers,  and  reeds,  and  rushes,  and,  very 
likely,  a  fountain  with  the  spare  water. 

"  And  that'll  be  a  public  park  for  the  use  of  the  whole 
town,  and  you  can  see  for  yourself,  madam,  that  it'll  be 
a  grand  thing  to  look  out  from  Mrs.  Cliff's  windows  on 
such  a  beautiful  place  !  It  will  be  fitted  up  and  railed 
off  very  much  after  the  style  of  her  own  grounds,  so  that 
the  whole  thing  will  be  like  a  great  estate  right  in  the 
middle  of  the  town.  She's  thinkin'  of  callin'  the  park 


MR.   BUKKE   MAKES   A   CALL  145 

'  The  Grove  pf  the  Incas.'  That  sounds  nice  ;  don't  you 
think  so,  madam  ?  " 

"  It  sounds  very  well  indeed,"  said  Mrs.  Buskirk.  She 
had  heard  before  of  plans  made  by  people  who  had  sud 
denly  conie  into  possession  of  money. 

Burke  saw  that  he  had  not  yet  made  the  impression 
that  he  desired.  He  wanted,  without  actually  saying  so, 
to  let  this  somewhat  supercilious  lady  know  that  if  the 
possession  of  money  was  a  reason  for  social  position,  — 
and  he  knew  of  no  other  reason  for  the  Buskirks'  posi 
tion,  —  Mrs.  Cliff  would  be  aft,  talking  to  the  Captain 
while  the  Buskirks  would  be  walking  about  by  them 
selves  amidship. 

But  he  did  not  know  how  to  do  this.  He  knew  it 
would  be  no  use  to  talk  about  horses  and  carriages,  and 
all  that  sort  of  thing,  for  these  the  Buskirks  possessed, 
and  their  coachman  wore  top  boots,  —  a  thing  Mrs.  Cliff 
would  never  submit  to.  He  was  almost  on  the  point  of 
relinquishing  his  attempt  to  make  Mrs.  Buskirk  call 
upon  the  widow  of  the  storekeeper,  when  the  lady 
helped  him  by  asking  in  a  casual  way  if  Mrs.  Cliff 
proposed  living  winter  and  summer  in  her  new 
house. 

"  No,"  said  Burke,  "  not  in  the  summer.  I  hear  Plain- 
ton  is  pretty  hot  in  the  summer,  and  she'll  go  — "  (Oh, 
a  radiant  thought  came  to  him !)  "  I  expect  she'll  cruise 
about  in  her  yacht  during  the  warm  weather." 

"  Her  yacht ! "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Buskirk,  for  the  first 
time  exhibiting  marks  of  actual  interest.  "Has  Mrs. 
Cliff  a  yacht  ?  " 

L 


146  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"  She's  going  to  have  one,"  said  Burke  to  himself,  "  and 
I'll  put  her  up  to  it  before  I  go  home  this  day." 

"  Yes,"  he  said  aloud,  "  that  is,  she  hasn't  got  it  yet, 
but  she's  going  to  have  it  as  soon  as  the  season  opens.  I 
shall  select  it  for  her,  I  know  all  about  yachts  and 
every  other  kind  of  craft,  and  she'll  have  one  of  the  very 
finest  on  this  coast.  She's  a  good  sailor,  Mrs.  Cliff  is, 
for  I've  cruised  with  her !  And  nothing  will  she  enjoy 
better  in  hot  weather  than  her  noble  yacht  and  the  open 
sea ! " 

Now  this  did  make  an  impression  upon  Mrs.  Buskirk. 
A  citizen  of  Plainton  who  possessed  a  yacht  was  not  to 
be  disregarded.  After  this  she  was  rather  abstracted, 
and  the  conversation  fell  off.  Burke  saw  that  it  was 
time  for  him  to  go,  and  as  he  had  now  said  all  he  cared 
to  say,  he  was  willing  to  do  so. 

In  parting  with  him  Mrs.  Buskirk  was  rather  more 
gracious  than  when  she  received  him.  "I  hope  when 
you  call  again,"  she  said,  "  that  you  may  find  my  husband 
at  home.  I  know  he  will  be  glad  to  see  you !  " 

As  Burke  jingled  and  pranced  away  he  grinned  behind 
his  great  fur  collar.  "  She'll  call ! "  said  he  to  himself. 
"  She'll  call  on  the  yacht  if  she  doesn't  call  on  anything 
else ! " 


MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT  147 

CHAPTER  XVII 

MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

WHEN  the  interview  with  Mrs.  Buskirk  was  reported 
that  afternoon  to  Mrs.  Cliff,  the  good  lady  sat  aghast. 
"  I've  decided  about  the  park,"  she  said,  "  and  that  is  all 
very  well.  But  what  do  you  mean  by  a  yacht  ?  What  could 
be  more  ridiculous  than  to  talk  about  me  and  a  yacht ! " 

"  Eidiculous  !  "  exclaimed  Burke.  "  It's  nothing  of  the 
kind !  The  more  I  think  of  the  idea,  the  better  I  like  it, 
and  if  you'll  think  of  it  soberly,  I  believe  you'll  like  it 
just  as  much  as  I  do !  In  the  first  place,  you've  got  to  do 
something  to  keep  your  money  from  being  dammed  up 
and  running  all  over  everything.  This  house  and  furni 
ture  cleared  away  things  for  a  time,  but  the  whole  busi 
ness  will  be  just  as  much  clogged  up  as  it  was  before  if 
you  don't  look  out.  I  don't  want  to  give  advice,  but  it 
does  strike  me  that  anybody  as  rich  as  you  are  oughtn't 
to  feel  that  they  could  afford  to  sit  still  here  in  Plainton, 
year  in  and  year  out,  no  matter  how  fine  a  house  they 
might  have !  They  ought  to  think  of  that  great  heap  of 
gold  in  the  mound  and  feel  that  it  was  their  duty  to  get 
all  the  grand  and  glorious  good  out  of  it  that  they  knew 
how!" 

"  But  it  does  seem  to  me,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "  that  a  yacht 
would  be  an  absolute  extravagance  and  waste  of  money. 
And,  you  know,  I  have  firmly  determined  I  will  not 
waste  my  money." 

"  To  call  sittin'  in  a  beautiful  craft,  on  a  rollin'  sea, 


148  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

with  a  spankin'  breeze,  a  waste  of  money,  is  something 
I  can't  get  into  my  brain ! "  said  Mr.  Burke.  "  But  you 
could  do  good  with  a  yacht.  You  could  take  people  out 
on  cruises  who  would  never  get  out  if  you  didn't  take 
them!  And  now  I've  an  idea!  It's  just  come  to  me. 
You  might  get  a  really  big  yacht.  If  I  was  you,  I'd 
have  a  steam  yacht,  because  you'd  have  more  control 
over  that  than  you'd  have  over  a  sailin'-vessel,  and  be 
sides  a  person  can  get  tired  of  sailin'-vessels,  as  I've 
found  out  myself.  And  then  you  might  start  a  sort  of 
summer  shelter  for  poor  people ;  not  only  very  poor  peo 
ple,  but  respectable  people,  who  never  get  a  chance  to  sniff 
salt  air.  And  you  might  spend  part  of  the  summer  in 
giving  such  people  what  would  be  the  same  as  country 
weeks,  only  you'd  take  them  out  to  sea  instead  of  ship 
ping  them  inland  to  dawdle  around  farms.  I  tell  you 
that's  a  splendid  idea,  and  nobody's  done  it." 

Day  after  day,  the  project  of  the  yacht  was  discussed 
by  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Burke,  and  she  was  beginning  to 
view  its  benevolent  features  with  a  degree  of  favor 
when  Mrs.  Buskirk  called.  That  lady's  visit  was 
prompted  partly  by  a  curiosity  to  see  what  sort  of  a 
woman  was  the  widow  of  the  Plainton  storekeeper  who 
would  cruise  the  next  summer  in  her  yacht ;  and  partly 
by  a  feeling  that  to  such  a  person  a  certain  amount  of 
respect  was  due  even  from  a  Buskirk. 

But  when  she  entered  the  house,  passed  through  the 
great  hall,  and  seated  herself  in  the  drawing-room,  she 
saw  more  than  she  had  expected  to  see.  She  saw  a 
house  immeasurably  better  fitted  out  and  furnished 


MBS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT  149 

than  her  own.  She  knew  the  value  of  the  rugs  which 
Miss  Shott  had  declared  must  have  cost  at  least  twenty 
dollars  each,  and  she  felt,  although  she  did  not  thoroughly 
appreciate,  the  difference  in  artistic  merit  between  the 
pictures  upon  her  walls  and  the  masterly  paintings 
which  had  been  selected  by  the  ladies  Thorpedyke  for 
the  drawing-room  of  Mrs.  Cliff. 

The  discovery  startled  her.  She  must  talk  to  her 
husband  about  it  as  soon  as  he  reached  home.  It  was 
not  only  money,  but  a  vast  deal  of  money,  and  some 
thing  more,  which  had  done  all  this. 

She  had  asked  for  the  ladies,  knowing  that  Mrs.  Cliff 
did  not  live  alone,  and  all  the  ladies  were  at  home. 
Amid  those  surroundings,  the  elder  Miss  Thorpedyke, 
most  carefully  arrayed,  made  an  impression  upon  Mrs. 
Buskirk  very  different  from  that  she  had  produced  on 
the  occasion  of  their  single  former  interview  in  the 
darkened  little  parlor  of  the  Thorpedyke  house. 

Mrs.  Cliff,  in  a  costume  quite  simple,  but  as  rich  as 
her  conscience  would  allow,  felt  within  herself  all  the 
uplifting  influence  of  her  wealth,  as  she  stepped  forward 
to  salute  this  lady  who  had  always  been  so  uplifted  by 
her  wealth. 

In  the  course  of  the  conversation,  the  yacht  was  men 
tioned.  The  visitor  would  not  go  away  without  being 
authoritatively  informed  upon  this  subject. 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  promptly,  "  I  shall  have  a 
yacht  next  summer.  Mr.  Burke  will  select  one  for  me, 
and  I  know  it  will  be  a  good  one,  for  he  thoroughly 
understands  such  matters." 


150  MRS.  CUFF'S  YACHT 

Before  she  left,  Mrs.  Buskirk  invited  Mrs.  Cliff,  the 
Misses  Thorpedyke,  and  Miss  Croup  to  take  luncheon 
with  her  quite  informally  on  the  following  Tuesday. 
She  would  have  made  it  a  dinner,  but  in  that  case  her 
husband  would  have  been  at  home,  and  it  would  have 
been  necessary  to  invite  Mr.  Burke,  and  she  was  not 
yet  quite  sure  about  Mr.  Burke. 

This  invitation,  which  soon  became  known  throughout 
the  town,  decided  the  position  of  Mrs.  Cliff  at  Plainton. 
When  that  lady  and  her  family  had  gone,  with  her  car 
riage  and  pair,  to  the  mansion  of  the  Buskirks  on  the 
hill,  and  had  there  partaken  of  luncheon,  very  infor 
mally,  in  company  with  three  of  the  most  distinguished 
ladies  of  Harrington,  who  had  also  been  invited  very 
informally ;  and  when  the  news  of  the  magnificent  re 
past  which  had  been  served  on  the  occasion,  with  flowers 
from  the  greenhouse  nearly  covering  the  table,  with 
everything  tied  up  with  ribbons  which  could  possibly 
be  so  decorated,  and  with  a  present  for  each  guest  in 
geniously  concealed  under  her  napkin,  floated  down 
into  the  town,  there  was  no  woman  in  that  place  who 
could  put  her  hand  upon  her  heart  and  honestly  declare 
that  hereafter  Mrs.  Cliff  could  look  up  to  anybody  in 
Plainton. 

This  recognition,  which  soon  became  obvious  to  Mrs. 
Cliff,  was  a  source  of  genuine  gratification  to  that  good 
lady.  She  had  never  been  inclined  to  put  herself  above 
her  neighbors  on  account  of  her  fortune,  and  would  have 
been  extremely  grieved  if  she  had  been  convinced  that 
her  wealth  would  oblige  her  to  assume  a  superior  posi- 


MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT  151 

tion,  but  when  that  wealth  gradually  and  easily,  without 
creating  any  disturbance  or  commotion  in  her  circle, 
raised  her  of  itself,  without  any  action  on  her  part,  to 
the  peak  of  social  eminence  in  her  native  place,  her 
genuine  satisfaction  was  not  interfered  with  in  the  least 
degree  by  her  conscience.  Her  position  had  come  to  her, 
and  she  had  assumed  it  as  if  she  had  been  born  to  it. 

But  whenever  she  thought  of  her  preeminence,  —  and 
she  did  not  think  of  it  nearly  so  often  as  other  people 
thought  of  it,  —  she  determined  that  it  should  make  no 
difference  to  her ;  and  when  next  she  gave  a  high  tea,  — 
not  the  grand  repast  to  which  she  intended  to  invite  the 
Buskirks  on  the  hill,  —  she  invited  Miss  Gushing.  Now, 
there  were  people  in  Plainton  who  did  not  invite  the 
dressmaker  to  their  table,  but  Mrs.  Cliff  had  asked  her 
when  they  were  all  poor  together,  and  she  would  have 
her  now  again  when  they  were  not  all  poor  together. 

As  the  winter  went  on,  Burke  became  more  and  more 
interested  in  Mrs.  Cliff's  yacht,  and  if  he  had  not  had 
this  subject  to  talk  about,  and  plan  about,  and  to  go  at 
all  hours  to  see  Mrs.  Cliff  about,  it  is  likely  that  he 
would  have  been  absolutely  obliged  to  leave  Plainton 
for  want  of  occupation.  But  the  idea  of  commanding  a 
steam  yacht  was  attraction  enough  to  keep  him  where  he 
could  continually  consider  it. 

He  assured  Mrs.  Cliff  that  it  was  not  at  all  necessary 
to  wait  imtil  pleasant  weather  before  undertaking  this 
great  enterprise.  A's  soon  as  the  harbors  were  reasonably 
free  of  ice  it  would  be  well  for  him  to  go  and  look  at 
yachts,  and  then  when  he  found  one  which  suited  him, 


152  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

Mrs.  Cliff  could  go  and  look  at  it,  and  if  it  suited  her,  it 
could  be  immediately  put  into  commission.  They  could 
steam  down  into  southern  waters,  and  cruise  about  there. 
The  spring  up  here  in  the  north  was  more  disagreeable 
than  any  other  season  of  the  year,  and  why  should  they 
not  go  and  spend  that  season  in  the  tranquil  and  beauti 
ful  waters  of  Florida  or  the  West  Indies  ? 

Mrs.  Cliff  had  now  fully  determined  to  become  the 
owner  of  a  yacht,  but  she  would  not  do  so  unless  she  saw 
her  way  clear  to  carry  out  the  benevolent  features  of  the 
plan  which  Mr.  Burke  had  suggested. 

"  What  I  want,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "  is  to  have  the  whole 
thing  understood !  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  spend  some 
of  the  pleasant  months  sailing  about  the  coast  and  feel 
ing  that  I'm  giving  health  and  pleasure  to  poor  and 
deserving  people,  especially  children,  but  I  am  not  will 
ing  to  consider  myself  a  rich  woman  who  keeps  an 
expensive  yacht  just  for  the  pleasure  of  cruising  around 
when  she  feels  like  it !  But  I  do  like  the  plan  of  giving 
country  weeks  at  sea." 

"Very  good,  madam,"  he  said,  "and  we  can  fix  that 
thing  so  that  nobody  can  possibly  make  any  mistake 
about  it.  What  do  you  say  to  calling  your  yacht  the 
Summer  Shelter?  We'll  paint  the  name  in  white  letters 
on  the  bows  and  stern,  and  nobody  can  take  us  for  idle 
sea-loafers  with  more  money  than  we  know  what  to  do 
with!" 

"  I  like  that ! "  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  Her  face  brightening. 
"You  may  buy  me  a  yacht  as  soon  as  you  please,  and 
we'll  call  her  the  Summer  Shelter!" 


MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT  153 

In  consequence  of  this  order,  Mr.  Burke  departed  from 
Plainton  the  next  day,  and  began  a  series  of  expeditions 
to  the  seaport  towns  on  the  Atlantic  coast  in  search  of  a 
steam  yacht  for  sale. 

The  winter  grew  colder,  and  the  weather  was  very 
bad ;  there  were  heavy  snows  and  drifts,  and  many  hard 
ships.  There  were  cases  of  privations  and  suffering,  and 
never  did  she  hear  of  one  of  these  cases  that  a  thankful 
glow  did  not  warm  the  heart  of  Mrs.  Cliff  as  she  thought 
that  she  was  able  to  relieve  it. 

But  Mrs.  Cliff  knew,  and  if  she  had  not  known  she 
would  have  soon  found  out,  that  it  was  often  very  diffi 
cult  to  relieve  distress  of  body  without  causing  distress 
of  mind,  but  she  and  Willy  and  the  Misses  Thorpedyke 
had  known  all  phases  of  the  evil  which  has  its  root  in 
the  want  of  money,  and  they  always  considered  people's 
sensibilities  when  they  held  charitable  councils.  There 
was  one  case  in  which  Mrs.  Cliff  felt  that  she  must  be 
very  careful  indeed. 

Old  Nancy  Shott  was  not  standing  the  winter  well. 
She  had  a  bad  cold,  and  was  confined  to  her  bed,  and 
one  day  Miss  Inchman  mentioned,  during  a  call  on 
Mrs.  Cliff,  that  she  did  not  believe  the  poor  old  thing 
was  able  to  keep  herself  warm.  She  had  been  to  see  her, 
and  the  coverings  on  her  bed  were  very  insufficient  she 
thought. 

The  Shotts  never  did  keep  a  warm  house,  nor  did  they 
care  to  spend  their  money  upon  warm  clothes ;  but  al 
though  that  sort  of  thing  might  do  very  well  while  they 
were  in  health  and  were  constantly  on  the  move,  it  did 


154  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

not  do  when  they  were  sick  in  bed.  When  Miss  Inch- 
man  had  gone,  Mrs.  Cliff  called  Willy. 

"  Where  are  we  using  those  California  blankets  which 
I  brought  home  with  me  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Using  them !  "  exclaimed  Willy.  "  We  aren't  using 
them  anywhere !  I'm  sure  nobody  would  think  of  using 
such  blankets  as  those,  except  when  some  extra  company 
might  happen  to  come.  It  ought  to  be  a  long  time 
before  those  blankets  would  have  to  go  into  the  wash, 
and  I've  kept  them  covered  up  on  the  top  shelf  of  the 
linen  closet ! " 

"  Well,  I  wish  you  would  go  and  get  them,"  said  Mrs. 
Cliff,  "  and  then  wrap  them  up  and  take  them  to  Miss 
Shott  as  a  present  from  me." 

"Take  them  to  Nancy  Shott!"  cried  Willy.  "I 
never  heard  of  such  a  thing  in  my  life !  She's  able  to 
buy  blankets,  dozens  of  them  if  she  wants  them,  and  to 
take  to  her  such  blankets  as  the  ones  you  brought  from 
California,  —  why  it  takes  my  breath  away  to  think  of 
it!" 

"But  you  must  take  them  to  her,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff. 
"  She  may  be  stingy,  but  she  is  suffering,  and  I  want  her 
to  have  those  blankets  because  they  are  the  very  best 
that  I  could  possibly  send  her.  You  can  get  Andrew 
Marks  to  drive  you  there,  but  stop  two  or  three  doors 
from  the  house.  She  will  think  you  are  putting  on  airs 
if  you  drive  up  to  the  door.  And  I  wish  you  would  give 
her  the  blankets  just  as  if  it  was  a  matter  of  course  that 
anybody  would  send  things  to  a  sick  person." 

"  Oh  yes ! "  said  Willy.     "  As  if  you  hadn't  a  pot  of 


MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT  155 

jelly  to  spare  and  so  sent  her  these  blankets  fit  for  an 
Emperor  on  his  throne  !  " 

That  very  evening  the  reluctant  Willy  took  the 
blankets  to  Miss  Shott,  for  Mrs.  Cliff  knew  it  was  going 
to  be  a  very  cold  night,  and  she  wanted  her  to  have  them 
as  soon  as  possible. 

When  Nancy  Shott  beheld  the  heavy  and  beautiful 
fabrics  of  fine  wool  which  Willy  spread  out  upon  her 
bed  in  order  that  she  might  better  examine  them,  the 
eyes  of  the  poor  old  woman  flashed  with  admiring 
delight. 

"  Well,"  said  she,  "  Sarah  Cliff  has  got  a  memory  ! " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  Willy. 

"  Why,  she  remembers,"  said  Miss  Shott,  "  that  I  once 
joined  in  to  give  her  a  pair  of  blankets ! " 

"  Good  gracious ! "  exclaimed  Willy,  and  she  was 
on  the  point  of  speaking  her  mind  in  regard  to  the 
salient  points  in  the  two  transactions,  but  she  refrained. 
The  poor  old  thing  was  sick,  and  she  must  not  say  any 
thing  to  excite  her. 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Miss  Shott,  after  lifting  a  corner  of 
a  blanket  and  rubbing  and  pinching  it,  "  that  these  are 
all  wool ! " 

Then  Willy  thought  herself  privileged  to  speak,  and 
for  some  minutes  she  dilated  on  the  merits  of  those 
superb  blankets,  the  like  of  which  were  not  to  be  found 
in  the  whole  State,  and,  perhaps,  not  in  any  State  east 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

"  Well,"  said  Miss  Shott,  "  you  may  tell  her  that  I 
will  not  throw  her  present  back  at  her  as  she  once  threw 


156  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

one  back  at  me !  And  now  that  you're  here,  Willy 
Croup,  I  may  as  well  say  to  you  what  I've  intended  to 
say  to  you  the  next  time  I  saw  you.  And  that  is,  that 
when  I  was  at  your  house  you  told  me  an  out  and  out 
falsehood,  —  I  won't  use  any  stronger  word  than  that,  — 
and  how  you  could  sleep  after  having  done  it  I'm  sure  I 
don't  know ! " 

"  Falsehood ! "  cried  Willy.  "  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 
"  You  told  me,"  said  Nancy,  "  that  Mrs.  Cliff  wasn't 
goin'  to  take  boarders,  —  and  now  look  at  those  Thorpe- 
dykes  !  Not  two  days  after  you  tried  to  deceive  me  they 
went  there  to  board !  And  now  what  have  you  got  to 
say  to  that  ?  " 

Willy  had  not  a  word  to  say.  She  sprang  to  her 
feet,  she  glared  at  the  triumphant  woman  in  the  bed, 
and,  turning,  went  downstairs. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

THE   DAWN    OF    THE    GROVE    OF   THE    INCAS 

A  MAN  may  have  command  of  all  the  money  necessary, 
and  he  may  have  plenty  of  knowledge  and  experience  in 
regard  to  the  various  qualities  of  sea-going  vessels,  but 
even  with  these  great  advantages  he  may  find  it  a  very 
difficult  thing  to  buy,  ready  to  his  hand,  a  suitable  steam 
yacht.  The  truth  of  this  statement  was  acknowledged 
by  Mr.  Burke  after  he  had  spent  nearly  a  month  in 
Boston,  New  York,  and  various  points  between  these 


DAWN   OF  THE   GROVE   OP   THE   INCAS          157 

cities,  and,  after  advertising,  inquiring,  and  investigating 
the  subject  in  all  possible  ways,  found  nothing  which  he 
could  recommend  Mrs.  Cliff  to  purchase. 

He  wrote  to  her  a  great  many  letters  during  this  period, 
all  of  which  were  interesting,  although  there  were  por 
tions  of  many  of  them  which  she  did  not  quite  under 
stand,  being  expressed  in  a  somewhat  technical  fashion. 
Burke  liked  to  write  letters.  It  was  a  novel  experience 
for  him  to  have  time  to  write  and  something  to  write 
about.  He  had  been  better  educated  than  the  ordinary 
sailor,  and  his  intelligence  and  habits  of  observation 
enabled  him  to  supplement  to  a  considerable  extent  what 
he  had  learned  at  school.  His  spelling  and  grammar 
were  sometimes  at  fault,  but  his  handwriting  was  ex 
tremely  plain  and  distinct,  and  Willy  Croup,  who  always 
read  his  letters,  declared  that  it  was  much  better  to  write 
plainly  than  to  be  always  correct  in  other  respects,  for 
what  was  the  good  of  proper  spelling  and  grammar  if 
people  could  not  make  out  what  was  written  ? 

Mrs.  Cliff  was  not  at  all  disturbed  by  the  delay  in  the 
purchase  of  a  yacht ;  for,  according  to  her  idea,  it  would 
be  a  long  time  yet  before  it  was  pleasant  to  sail  upon  the 
sea,  and  if  it  was  interesting  to  Mr.  Burke  to  go  from 
place  to  place  and  have  interviews  with  ship-owners  and 
sea-faring  people,  she  was  glad  that  she  was  able  to  give 
him  an  opportunity  to  do  so. 

As  for  herself,  she  was  in  a  pleasant  state  of  feminine, 
satisfaction.  Without  any  sort  of  presumption  or  even 
effort  on  her  part  she  had  attained  a  high  and  unques 
tioned  position  among  her  fellow-citizens,  and  her  mind 


158  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

was  not  set  upon  maintaining  that  position  by  worthy 
and  unoffensive  methods  of  using  her  riches. 

She  now  had  a  definite  purpose  in  life.  If  she  could 
make  herself  happy  and  a  great  many  other  people 
happy,  and  only  a  few  people  envious  or  jealous,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  feel  that  she  was  living  and  doing 
things  as  a  person  of  good  common  sense  and  great  wealth 
ought  to  live  and  do  things,  what  more  could  be  expected 
of  her  in  this  life  ? 

Thus  backed  up  by  her  conscience  and  her  check-book, 
she  sat,  morning  after  morning,  before  a  cheerful  fire  of 
hickory  logs  and  outlined  her  career.  This  was  in  the 
parlor  of  her  old  house,  which  she  now  determined  to 
use  as  an  office  or  business-room.  She  could  afford  the 
warmest  fire  of  the  best  seasoned  wood ;  her  chimney 
was  in  perfect  order,  and  she  was  but  fifty-five  years  old 
and  in  excellent  health  ;  —  why  should  she  not  enjoy  the 
exhilarating  blaze,  and  plan  for  years  of  exhilarating 
occupation. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Burke  left  Plainton  Mrs.  Cliff  began 
work  upon  the  new  park.  This  'she  could  do  without 
his  assistance,  and  it  was  work  the  mere  contempla 
tion  of  which  delighted  her.  She  had  legal  assistance 
in  regard  to  the  purchase  of  the  grounds  and  buildings 
of  the  opposite  block,  and  while  this  was  in  the  hands 
of  her  lawyers,  she  was  in  daily  consultation  with  an 
eminent  landscape-constructor  who  had  come  to  Plainton 
for  the  purpose.  He  lodged  at  the  hotel,  and  drew  most 
beautiful  plans  of  the  proposed  park. 

In  the  happy  morning  hours  during  which  Mrs.  Cliff's 


DAWN   OF  THE   GROVE   OF   THE   INCAS          159 

mind  wandered  over  the  beautiful  drives,  or  stood  upon  the 
rustic  bridges  which  crossed  the  stream  dashing  among 
its  rocks  and  spreading  itself  out  into  placid  pools ;  or 
when,  mentally,  she  sat  in  the  shade  of  the  great  trees 
and  looked  out  upon  the  wide  stretches  of  verdant  lawn, 
relieved  by  the  brilliant  colors  of  the  flower-beds,  she 
often  felt  it  was  almost  the  same  thing  as  if  it  were 
actually  summer,  and  that  she  really  saw  the  beautiful 
grass  and  flowers,  heard  the  babbling  of  the  stream,  and 
felt  the  refreshing  breezes  which  rustled  the  great  limbs 
of  the  trees. 

She  did  not  selfishly  keep  these  pleasures  to  herself, 
but  often  on  the  stormy  evenings,  she  and  Willy  and  the 
Misses  Thorpedyke  would  go  over  the  brilliantly  colored 
plans  of  the  Incas'  Grove,  admire  what  had  been  pro 
posed,  and  suggest  things  which  they  thought  would  be 
desirable.  Miss  Thorpedyke,  who  had  a  vivid  recollec 
tion  of  the  gardens  of  Luxemburg,  spoke  of  many  of 
their  beautiful  and  classic  features  which  she  would 
recommend  for  the  new  park  if  it  were  not  that  they 
would  cost  so  much  money.  All  these  were  noted  down 
with  great  care  by  Mrs.  Cliff,  and  mentioned  to  the  land 
scape-constructor  the  next  day. 

Thus  at  home,  in  church  circles,  in  the  society  of  the 
town,  and  in  the  mental  contemplation  of  the  charming 
landscape  which  in  consequence  of  her  own  will  and 
command  would  soon  spread  itself  out  before  her  win 
dows,  Mrs.  Cliff  was  very  happy.  But  among  all  her 
sources  of  enjoyment  there  was  nothing,  perhaps,  which 
pleased  her  better  than  to  think  on  a  cold  winter's  night, 


160  MKS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

when  the  piercing  winds  were  roaring  about  the  house, 
that  poor  old  Nancy  Shott  was  lying  warm  and  comfort 
able  under  two  of  the  finest  blankets  which  ever  came 
from  Californian  looms. 

The  great  object  of  Willy  Croup's  thoughts  at  this 
time  was  not  the  park,  —  for  she  could  not  properly 
appreciate  trees  and  grass  in  this  shivery  weather, — 
but  the  entertainment,  the  grand  lunch,  or  the  very 
high  tea  which  was  to  be  given  to  Mrs.  Buskirk  and 
daughters  on  the  hill.  This  important  event  had  been 
postponed  because  the  sleighing  had  become  rather  bad 
and  the  Buskirks  had  gone  to  the  city. 

But  as  soon  as  they  returned,  Willy  hoped  with  all 
her  heart  that  Mrs.  Cliff  would  be  able  to  show  them 
what  may  be  done  in  the  line  of  hospitable  entertainment 
by  people  who  had  not  only  money  but  something  more. 
There  had  been  a  time  when  Willy  thought  that  when 
people  wished  to  entertain  there  was  nothing  needed  but 
money,  but  then  she  had  not  lived  in  the  house  with  the 
Misses  Thorpedyke,  and  had  not  heard  them  and  Mrs. 
Cliff  discuss  such  matters. 

The  peace  of  mind  of  Mrs.  Cliff  was  disturbed  one  day 
by  the  receipt  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Burke,  who  wrote 
from  New  York  and  informed  her  that  he  had  found  a 
yacht  which  he  believed  would  suit  her,  and  he  wished 
very  much  that  she  would  come  and  look  at  it  before  he 
completed  the  purchase. 

Mrs.  Cliff  did  not  wish  to  go  to  New  York  and  look  at 
yachts.  She  had  then  under  consideration  the  plan  of 
a  semicircular  marble  terrace  which  was  to  overlook  one 


DAWN   OF  THE   GROVE   OF   THE   INC  AS          101 

end  of  a  shaded  lakelet,  which  Mr.  Humphreys,  her  pro 
fessional  adviser,  assured  her  she  could  have  just  as  well 
as  not,  by  means  of  a  dam,  and  she  did  not  wish  to  inter 
rupt  this  most  interesting  occupation.  Mr.  Humphreys 
had  procured  photographs  of  some  of  the  romantic  spots 
of  the  Luxemburg,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  felt  within  herself  the 
gladdening  impulses  of  a  good  magician  as  she  planned 
the  imitation  of  all  this  classic  beauty. 

Besides,  it  was  the  middle  of  March,  and  cold,  and  not 
at  all  the  season  in  which  she  would  be  able  to  properly 
appreciate  the  merits  of  a  yacht.  Still,  as  Mr.  Burke 
had  found  the  vessel  and  wanted  her  to  see  it,  and  as 
there  was  a  possibility,  he  had  written,  that  delay  might 
cause  her  to  lose  the  opportunity  of  getting  what  she 
wanted,  and  as  she  was  very  desirous  of  pleasing  him, 
she  decided  that  she  and  Willy  would  go  to  New  York 
and  look  at  the  vessel. 

It  would  not  take  long,  because,  of  course,  Mr.  Burke 
had  already  found  out  everything  that  was  necessary  in 
regard  to  its  sea-going  qualities,  and  a  great  many  other 
things  of  which  she  would  not  be  a  judge.  In  fact,  it 
was  not  necessary  for  her  to  go  at  all ;  but  as  she  was  to 
pay  for  it,  Mr.  Burke  would  be  better  satisfied  if  first  she 
saw  it. 

It  was  very  pleasant  to  think  that  she  could  go  away 
whenever  she  pleased  and  leave  her  house  in  the  care  of 
two  such  ladies  as  Miss  Eleanor  Thorpedyke  and  her 
sister. 


162  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

CHAPTER  XIX 

THE    "HUMMER   SHELTER" 

WHEN  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy,  as  well  wrapped  up  in 
handsome  furs  as  Mr.  Burke  himself,  who  accompanied 
them,  left  their  New  York  hotel  to  drive  over  to  Brooklyn 
and  examine  the  yacht  which  had  been  selected,  Willy's 
mind  vainly  endeavored  to  form  within  itself  an  image 
of  the  object  of  the  expedition. 

She  was  so  thoroughly  an  inland  woman  and  had  so  little 
knowledge  of  matters  connected  with  the  sea,  that  when 
she  first  heard  the  mention  of  the  yacht  it  had  brought 
into  her  mind  the  idea  of  an  Asiatic  animal,  with  long 
hair  and  used  as  a  beast  of  burden,  which  she  had 
read  about  in  her  school-books.  But  when  she  had  dis 
covered  that  the  object  in  question  was  a  vessel  and  not 
a  bovine  ruminant,  her  mind  carried  her  no  farther  than 
to  a  pleasure  boat  with  a  sail  to  it. 

Even  Mrs.  Cliff,  who  had  travelled,  had  inadequate 
ideas  concerning  a  steam  yacht.  She  had  seen  the  small 
steamers  which  ran  upon  the  Seine,  and  she  had  taken 
little  trips  upon  them ;  and  if  she  had  given  the  subject 
careful  consideration  she  might  have  thought  that  the 
yacht  intended  for  the  use  of  a  private  individual  would 
be  somewhat  smaller  than  one  of  these. 

It  would  be  difficult,  therefore,  to  imagine  the  surprise 
and  even  amazement  of  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy  Croup  when 
they  beheld  the  vessel  to  which  Mr.  Burke  conducted 
them.  It  was  in  fact  a  sea-going  steamer  of  small  com- 


THE   "SUMMER   SHELTER  "  163 

parative  size,  it  is  true,  but  of  towering  proportions  when 
compared  with  the  ideals  in  the  minds  of  the  two  female 
citizens  of  Plainton  who  had  come,  the  one  to  view  it  and 
the  other  to  buy  it. 

"  Before  we  go  on  board,"  said  Mr.  Burke,  as  he  proudly 
stood  upon  the  pier,  holding  fast  to  his  silk  hat  in  the 
cold  breeze  which  swept  along  the  water  front,  "  I  want 
you  to  take  a  general  look  at  her  !  I  don't  suppose  you 
know  anything  about  her  lines  and  build,  but  I  can  tell 
you  they're  all  right !  But  you  can  see  for  yourselves 
that  she's  likely  to  be  a  fine,  solid,  comfortable  craft,  and 
won't  go  pitchin'  and  tossin'  around  like  the  crafts  that 
some  people  go  to  sea  in  !  " 

"  Why,  the  name  is  on  it ! "  cried  Willy.  "  Summer 
Shelter!  How  did  you  happen  to  find  one  with  that 
name,  Mr.  Burke  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  didn't !  "  said  he.  "  She  had  another  name, 
but  I  wanted  you  to  see  her  just  as  she'd  look  if  she 
really  belonged  to  you,  —  so  I  had  the  other  name 
painted  out  and  this  put  on  in  good  big  white  letters  that 
can  be  seen  for  a  long  distance.  If  you  don't  buy  her, 
Mrs.  Cliff,  of  course  I'll  have  the  old  name  put  back 
again.  Now  what  do  you  think  of  her,  Mrs.  Cliff,  lookin' 
at  her  from  this  point  of  view  ?  " 

The  good  lady  stood  silent.  She  gazed  at  the  long 
high  hull  of  the  steamer,  she  looked  up  at  the  black 
smoke-stack,  and  at  the  masts  which  ran  up  so  shapely 
and  so  far,  and  her  soul  rose  higher  than  it  had  been 
uplifted  even  by  the  visions  of  the  future  Grove  of  the 
lucas. 


164  MES.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"  I  think  it  is  absolutely  splendid ! "  said  she.  "  Let 
us  go  in ! " 

"  On  board,  inadam,"  said  Burke,  gently  correcting  her. 
"  This  way  to  the  gang-plank  !  " 

For  nearly  two  hours  Mrs.  CHff  and  Willy  wandered 
over  the  upper  and  lower  decks  of  the  yacht ;  examined 
its  pretty  little  state-rooms  ;  sat  excitedly  upon  the  sofas 
of  its  handsomely  decorated  saloon  ;  examined  the  fold 
ing  tables  and  all  the  other  wonderful  things  which  shut 
themselves  up  out  of  the  way  when  they  were  not 
needed ;  tapped  the  keys  of  the  piano  ; '  investigated 
the  storerooms,  lockers,  and  all  the  marine  domestic 
conveniences,  and  forgot  it  was  winter,  forgot  that 
the  keen  wind  nearly  blew  their  bonnets  off  as 
they  walked  the  upper  deck,  and  felt  what  a  grand 
thing  it  would  be  to  sail  upon  the  sea  upon  such  a 
noble  vessel. 

To  all  this  there  was  added  in  Mrs.  Cliffs  mind  the 
proud  feeling  that  it  would  be  her  own,  and  in  it  she 
could  go  wherever  she  pleased  and  come  back  again  when 
it  suited  her. 

Willy,  who  had  never  been  to  sea,  was  perfectly  free 
to  form  an  idea  of  an  ocean  voyage  as  delightful  and 
charming  as  she  pleased,  and  this  she  did  with  great 
enthusiasm.  Even  had  it  been  necessary  that  this  per 
fectly  lovely  vessel  should  remain  moored  at  the  pier,  it 
would  have  given  joy  to  her  soul  to  live  in  it,  to  sleep  in 
one  of  those  sweet  little  rooms,  and  to  eat,  and  read,  and 
sew  in  that  beautiful  saloon. 

'•Air.  Burke/'  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "I  don't   believe   you 


THE   "  SUMMER    SHELTER  "  165 

could  find  any  vessel  better  suited  to  our  purpose  than 
this  one,  and  I  wish  you  would  buy  it !  " 

"  Madam,"  said  Burke,  "  I'll  do  it  immediately !  And  I 
tell  you,  madam,  that  this  is  a  wonderful  chance  for  this 
time  of  the  year  when  yachts  and  pleasure  crafts  in  this 
part  of  the  world  are  generally  laid.up  and  can't  be  seen 
properly ;  and  what's  more,  would  have  to  be  docked  and 
overhauled  generally  before  they  would  be  ready  for  sea. 
But  here  is  a  yacht  that's  been  cruising  down  south 
and  in  the  West  Indies  and  has  just  come  up  here,  and  is 
all  ready  to  go  to  sea  again  whenever  you  like  it.  If  you 
don't  mind  going  home  by  yourselves,  I'll  go  to  the  office 
of  the  agent  of  the  owner,  and  settle  the  business  at  once ! " 

It  would  have  been  impossible  for  any  purchase  or  any 
possession  of  palace,  pyramid,  or  principality  to  make 
prouder  the  heart  of  Mrs.  Cliff  than  did  the  consciousness 
that  she  was  the  owner  of  a  fine  sea  vessel  worked  by 
steam.  She  acknowledged  to  herself  that  if  she  had 
been  at  home  she  could  not  have  prevented  herself  from 
putting  on  those  airs  which  she  had  been  so  anxious  to 
avoid.  But  these  would  wear  off  very  soon  she  knew, 
and  so  long  as  there  was  no  one,  except  Willy,  to  notice 
a  possible  change  of  manner,  it  did  not  matter. 

Now  that  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy  were  in  New  York  they 
both  agreed  that  it  would  be  well  for  them  to  attend  to 
some  shopping  for  which  they  had  intended  coming  to 
the  city  later  in  the  spring.  It  had  been  found  that 
there  were  many  things  wanted  to  supplement  the  fur 
nishing  of  the  new  house,  and  to  the  purchase  of  these 
the  two  ladies  now  devoted  their  mornings. 


166  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YA<  -H  r 

But  every  afternoon,  in  company  with  Mr.  Burke,  they 
went  on  board  the  Summer  Shelter  to  see  what  he  had 
been  doing  and  to  consult  with  him  about  what  he  was 
going  to  do.  It  was  astonishing  how  many  little  things 
were  needed  to  be  done  to  a  yacht  just  returned  from  a 
cruise,  and  how  interesting  all  these  things  were  to  Mrs. 
Cliff  and  Willy,  considering  that  they  knew  so  little 
about  them. 

The  engineer  and  fireman  had  not  been  discharged, 
but  were  acting  as  watchmen,  and  Burke  strongly 
recommended  that  they  should  be  engaged  immediately, 
because,  as  he  said,  if  Mrs.  Cliff  were  to  let  them  go  it 
would  be  difficult  to  get  such  men  again.  "It  was  a 
little  expensive,  to  be  sure,  but  when  a  yacht  is  not  laid 
up,"  he  said, "  there  should  always  be  men  aboard  of  her." 
And  so  the  painting,  and  the  cleaning,  and  the  necessary 
fitting  up  went  on,  and  Mr.  Burke  was  very  happy,  and 
Mrs.  Cliff  was  very  proud,  although  the  external  mani 
festation  of  this  feeling  was  gradually  wearing  off. 

"  I  don't  want  to  give  advice,  madam,"  said  Burke  one 
evening,  as  the  little  party  sat  together  discussing  nauti 
cal  matters,  "  but  if  I  was  in  your  place,  I  wouldn't  go 
back  to  Plainton  before  I  had  taken  a  little  trial  trip  on 
the  yacht.  It  doesn't  matter  a  bit  about  the  weather ! 
After  we  get  out  to  sea  it  will  be  only  a  few  days  before 
we  find  we're  in  real  spring  weather  and  the  warm  water 
of  the  Gulf  Stream.  We  can  touch  at  Savannah,  and 
cruise  along  the  Florida  coast,  and  then  go  over  to  the 
Bahamas,  and  look  around  as  long  as  we  feel  like !  And 
when  we  get  back  here  it  will  be  beginning  to  be  milder, 


THE   "SUMMER   SHELTER"  167 

and  then  you  can  go  home  and  arrange  for  the  voyages 
you're  goin'  to  make  in  her  during  the  summer  !  " 

Mrs.  Cliff  considered.  This  was  a  tempting  proposi 
tion.  And  while  she  considered,  Willy  sat  and  looked 
at  her  with  glowing  cheeks  and  half-open  mouth.  It 
would  not  have  required  one  second  for  her  to  decide 
such  a  question. 

"You  know,"  said  Mr.  Burke,  "it  wouldn't  take  me 
long  to  get  her  ready  for  sea.  I  could  soon  coal  her  and 
put  her  stores  aboard,  and  as  to  a  crew,  I  can  get  one  in 
no  time.  We  could  leave  port  in  a  week  just  as  well  as 
not !  " 

"  Let's  go ! "  said  Willy,  seizing  the  hand  of  her  friend. 
"  It  need  only  be  a  little  trip,  just  to  see  how  it  would 
all  feel." 

Mrs.  Cliff  smiled.  "  Very  good,"  said  she,  "  we'll  take 
a  little  trial  trip  just  as  soon  as  you  are  ready,  Captain 
Burke !  That  is,  if  you  have  not  made  any  plans  which 
will  prevent  you  from  accepting  the  position." 

"  Madam,"  said  Burke,  springing  to  his  feet  and  stand 
ing  proudly  before  Mrs.  Cliff,  "I'd  throw  up  the  com 
mand  of  the  finest  liner  on  the  Atlantic  to  be  captain  of 
the  Summer  Shelter  for  this  summer !  I  see  far  more 
fun  ahead  in  the  cruises  that  you're  going  to  make  than 
in  any  voyage  I've  looked  forward  to  yet ;  and  when 
people  have  a  chance  to  mix  fun  and  charity  as  we're 
goin'  to  mix  them,  I  say  such  people  ought  to  call  them 
selves  lucky  !  This  is  Wednesday !  Well  now,  madam, 
by  next  Wednesday  the  Summer  Shelter  will  be  all  fitted 
out  for  the  cruise,  and  she'll  be  ready  to  sail  out  of  the 


168  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

harbor  at  whatever  hour  you  name,  for  the  tide  won't 
make  any  difference  to  her ! " 

"There  is  only  one  thing  I  don't  like  about  the 
arrangement,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  when  the  Captain  had 
left  them,  "  and  that  is,  that  we  will  have  to  take  this 
trip  by  ourselves.  It  seems  a  pity  for  three  people  to  go 
sailing  around  in  a  big  vessel  like  that  with  most  of 
the  state-rooms  empty;  but,  of  course,  people  are  not 
prepared  yet  for  country  weeks  at  sea  !  And  it  will  take 
some  time  to  make  my  plans  known  in  the  proper 
quarters." 

"  I  don't  suppose,"  said  Willy,  "  that  there's  anybody 
in  Plainton  that  we  could  send  for  on  short  notice. 
People  there  want  so  much  time  to  get  ready  to  do  any 
thing!" 

"  But  there  is  nobody  in  the  town  that  I  would  care  to 
take  on  a  first  voyage,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff.  "  You  know, 
something  might  go  wrong  and  we  would  have  to  come 
back,  and  if  it  is  found  necessary  to  do  that,  I  don't  want 
any  Plainton  people  on  board !  " 

"No  indeed!"  exclaimed  Willy,  her  mind  involuntarily 
running  towards  Nancy  Shott,  to  whom  a  voyage  to  the 
West  Indies  would  doubtless  be  of  great  service.  "  Don't 
let's  bother  about  anything  of  that  kind !  Let's  make  the 
first  trip  by  ourselves  !  I  think  that  will  be  glorious ! " 


THE    SYNOD  169 

CHAPTER   XX 

THE    SYNOD 

As  most  of  Mrs.  Cliff's  business  in  New  York  was  now 
finished,  and  as  she  and  Willy  were  waiting  there  only 
for  the  yacht  to  be  made  ready  for  sea,  she  had  a  good 
deal  of  time  on  her  hands. 

On  the  Saturday  following  her  decision  to  make  a  trial 
trip  on  the  Summer  Shelter,  when  returning  from  the 
daily  visit  to  the  yacht,  Mrs.  Cliff  stopped  in  at  a  Brook 
lyn  church  in  which  a  Synod  was  at  that  time  convened. 
She  had  read  of  the  proceedings  of  this  body  in  the 
papers,  and,  as  the  deliberations  concerned  her  own 
denomination,  she  thought  she  would  be  interested  in 
them.  Willy,  however,  preferred  to  go  on  by  herself 
to  New  York,  as  she  had  something  to  do  there  which 
she  thought  would  be  more  to  her  taste  than  the  pro 
ceedings  of  a  Synod. 

It  was  not  long  after  she  had  been  seated  in  the 
church  that  Mrs.  Cliff  began  to  regret  that  she  had  not 
attended  some  of  the  earlier  meetings,  for  the  questions 
debated  were  those  in  which  she  took  an  interest. 

After  a  time  she  saw  near  her  Mrs.  Arkwright,  a  lady 
who  had  visited  Mrs.  Perley  some  years  before,  and  with 
whom  she  had  then  become  acquainted.  Joining  her, 
Mrs.  Cliff  found  Mrs.  Arkwright  able  to  give  her  a  great 
deal  of  information  in  regard  to  the  members  of  the 
Synod,  and  as  the  two  sat  and  talked  together  in  whis 
pers,  a  desire  arose  in  the  mind  of  Mrs.  Cliff  that  she  and 


170  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

her  wealth  might  in  some  way  join  in  the  work  in  which 
all  these  people  were  engaged.  As  her  mind  rested  upon 
this  subject,  there  came  into  it  a  plan  which  pleased  her. 
Here  were  all  these  delegates,  many  of  them  looking 
tired  and  pale,  as  if  they  had  been  hard-worked  during 
the  winter,  and  here  was  she,  the  mistress  of  the  Summer 
Shelter,  about  to  take  a  trip  to  warm  and  sunny  regions 
with  an  almost  empty  vessel. 

As  soon  as  the  meeting  adjourned,  Mrs.  Cliff,  accom 
panied  by  Mrs.  Arkwright,  made  her  way  to  the  front, 
where  many  of  the  members  were  standing  together.  ;m<l 
was  introduced  by  her  friend  to  several  clergymen  with 
whom  Mrs.  Arkwright  was  acquainted.  As  soon  as  pos 
sible  Mrs.  Cliff  referred  to  the  subject  which  was  upon 
her  mind,  and  informed  the  gentlemen  with  whom  she 
had  just  been  made  acquainted,  that  if  they  thought  well 
of  it  she  would  like  to  invite  a  party  of  such  of  the  dele 
gates  who  would  care  for  such  an  excursion  at  this  season, 
to  accompany  her  on  a  short  trip  to  the  West  Indies.  Her 
vessel  would  easily  accommodate  twelve  or  fifteen  of  the 
gentlemen,  and  she  would  prefer  to  offer  her  invitation 
first  to  the  clerical  members  of  the  Synod. 

The  reverend  gentlemen  to  whom  this  offer  was  made 
were  a  little  surprised  by  it,  but  they  could  not  help  con 
sidering  it  was  a  most  generous  and  attractive  proposition, 
and  one  of  them  undertook  to  convey  the  invitation  to 
some  of  his  brethren  of  the  Synod. 

Although  the  Synod  had  adjourned,  many  of  the  dele 
gates  remained  for  a  considerable  time,  during  which 
Mrs.  Cliff's  invitation  was  discussed  with  lively  appreci- 


MRS.     CLIFF  S    INVITATION    WAS     PISCUSSED   WITH    LIVELY 
APPRECIATION 


THE   SYNOD  171 

ation,  some  of  the  speakers  informing  her  that  if  they 
could  make  the  arrangements  necessary  for  their  pulpits 
and  their  families  during  a  short  absence,  they  would 
be  delighted  to  accept  her  invitation.  The  Synod  would 
finally  adjourn  on  the  next  Tuesday,  and  she  was  prom 
ised  that  before  that  time  she  would  be  informed  of  the 
exact  number  of  guests  she  might  expect. 

The  next  morning  when  Mr.  Burke  appeared  to  accom 
pany  the  ladies  to  the  yacht,  he  found  Willy  Croup 
alone  in  their  parlor. 

"  Do  you  know  what's  happened  ? "  cried  Willy, 
springing  towards  him  as  he  entered.  "  Of  course  you 
don't,  for  Mrs.  Cliff  is  going  to  give  the  first  country 
week  on  the  Summer  Shelter  to  a  Synod  ! " 

"  To  a  what  ?  "  cried  Burke. 

"A  Synod,"  explained  Willy.  "It's  a  congregation, 
I  mean  a  meeting,  mostly  of  ministers,  come  together 
to  settle  church  matters.  She  invited  the  whole 
lot  of  them,  but  of  course  they  all  can't  come, — for 
there  are  more  than  a  hundred  of  them,  —  but  there 
will  be  about  a  dozen  who  can  sail  with  us  next 
Wednesday !  " 

Mr.  Burke's  jaw  dropped.  "A  dozen  ministers!"  he 
exclaimed.  "Sail  with  us!  By  George!  Miss  Croup, 
will  you  excuse  me  if  I  sit  down  ?  " 

"You  know,"  said  Willy,  "that  the  Summer  Shelter 
was  bought  for  this  sort  of  thing  !  That  is,  to  do  good 
to  people  who  can't  get  that  sort  of  good  in  other  ways  ! 
And  if  Mrs.  Cliff  takes  out  poor  children  from  the  slums, 
and  hard-working  shopgirls,  and  seamstresses,  why 


172  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

shouldn't  she  take  hard-working  ministers  and  give  them 
some  fresh  air  and  pleasure  ?  " 

"  A  dozen  ministers ! "  groaned  Mr.  Burke.  "  I  tell 
you,  Miss  Croup,  I  can't  take  them  in ! " 

"  Oh,  there'll  be  room  enough ! "  said  Willy,  mistaking 
his  meaning,  "  for  Mrs.  Cliff  says  that  each  of  those  little 
rooms  will  easily  hold  two ! " 

"  Oh,  it  isn't  that ! "  said  Burke,  his  eyes  fixed  stead 
fastly  upon  a  chair  near  him  as  if  it  had  been  something 
to  look  at.  "  But  twelve  ministers  coming  down  on  me 
so  sudden,  rather  takes  me  aback,  Miss  Croup ! " 

"  I  don't  wonder,"  said  Willy,  "  for  I  don't  believe  that 
a  Synod  ever  went  out  yachting  before  in  a  bunch  ! " 

Mr.  Burke  rose  and  looked  out  of  the  window. 
"Miss  Croup,"  said  he,  "do  you  remember  what  I 
said  about  mixin'  fun  and  charity  in  these  cruises? 
Well,  I  guess  we'll  have  to  take  our  charity  straight 
this  time!" 

But  when  Mrs.  Cliff  had  come  in  and  had  talked  with 
animation  and  enthusiasm  in  regard  to  her  plan,  the 
effects  of  the  shock  which  Mr.  Burke  had  received  l>egan 
to  wear  off. 

"  All  right,  madam  !  '*  said  he.  "  You're  owner,  and 
I'm  Captain,  and  I'll  stand  by  you !  And  if  you  take  it 
into  your  head  to  ship  a  dozen  popes  on  the  Summer 
Shelter,  I'll  take  them  where  you  want  them  to  go  to,  and 
I'll  bring  them  back  safe.  I  suppose  we'll  have  all  sorts 
of  customers  on  the  yacht  this  season,  and  if  we've  got 
to  get  used  to  queer  passengers,  a  Synod  will  do  very 
well  to  begin  with !  If  you'll  find  out  who's  goin'  and 


A  TELEGRAM    FROM   CAPTAIN    HORN  173 

will  write  to  them  to  be  on  hand  Tuesday  night,  I'll  see 
that  they're  taken  care  of ! " 

Mrs.  Cliff's  whole  heart  was  now  in  the  projected  cruise 
of  the  Summer  Shelter.  When  she  had  thought  of  it 
with  only  Willy  and  herself  as  passengers,  she  could  not 
help  considering  it  was  a  great  extravagance.  Now  she 
was  going  to  begin  her  series  of  sea-trips  in  a  fashion  far 
superior  and  more  dignified  than  anything  yet  thought 
of.  To  be  able  to  give  such  an  invitation  to  a  Synod  was 
something  of  which  she  might  well  be  proud,  and  she 
was  proud. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

A  TELEGRAM  FROM  CAPTAIN  HORN 

IT  was  early  Tuesday  morning,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  and 
Willy  having  just  finished  their  breakfast,  were  busily 
engaged  in  packing  the  two  trunks  they  proposed  taking 
with  them,  and  the  elder  lady  was  stating  that  although 
she  was  perfectly  willing  to  dress  in  the  blue  flannel 
suit  which  had  been  ordered,  she  was  not  willing  to  wear 
a  white  cap,  although  Willy  urged  that  this  was  the 
proper  thing,  as  they  had  been  told  by  the  people  where 
they  had  bought  their  yachting  suits  ;  and  Mrs.  Cliff  was 
still  insisting  that,  although  it  would  do  very  well  for 
Willy  to  wear  a  white  cap,  she  would  wear  a  hood,  —  the 
same  kind  of  a  hood  which  she  had  worn  on  all  her  other 
voyages,  which  was  more  like  a  bonnet  and  more  suitable 


174  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

to  her  on  that  account  than  any  other  kind  of  head  cover 
ing,  when  Mr.  Burke  burst  —  actually  burst  —  without 
knocking,  into  the  room.  His  silk  hat  was  on  the  back 
of  his  head,  and  he  wore  no  overcoat. 

"  Mrs.  Cliff,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I've  just  seen  Shirley ! 
You  remember  Shirley  ?  " 

"Indeed,  I  do,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff.  "I  remember  him 
very  well,  and  I  always  thought  him  to  be  a  remarkably 
nice  man !  But  where  did  you  see  him,  and  what  in  the 
world  did  he  tell  you  to  throw  you  into  such  a  flurry  ?  " 

"He  said  a  lot  to  me!"  replied  Burke.  "And  I'll 
try  to  make  as  straight  a  tale  of  it  as  I  can!  You 
see,  about  a  week  ago  Shirley  got  a  telegraphic  message 
from  Captain  Horn  —  "  - 

"Captain  Horn!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Cliff.  "Where  is 
he,  and  what  did  he  say  ?  " 

"He's  in  Mexico,"  said  Burke;  "and  the  telegram 
was  as  long  as  a  letter  —  that's  one  advantage  in  not 
being  obliged  to  think  of  what  things  cost,  —  and  he 
told  Shirley  a  lot—" 

"  How  did  they  say  they  were  ? "  asked  Mrs.  Cliff, 
eagerly.  "Or  did  he  say  anything  about  Mrs.  Horn? 
Are  they  well?" 

"  Oh,  I  expect  they're  all  right,"  said  Burke ;  "  but  I 
don't  think  he  treated  that  subject.  It  was  all  about 
that  gold,  and  the  part  of  it  that  was  to  go  to  Peru! 

"When  the  business  of  dividing  up  the  treasure  was 
settled  in  London  in  the  way  we  know  all  about,  word 
was  sent  to  the  Peruvian  government  to  tell  them  what 
had  happened,  and  to  see  what  they  said  about  it.  And 


A   TELEGRAM   FROM   CAPTAIN    HORN  175 

when  they  heard  the  news,  they  were  a  good  deal  more 
than  satisfied,  —  as  they  ought  to  have  been,  I'm  sure,  — 
and  they  made  no  bones  about  the  share  wo  took.  All 
they  wanted  was  to  have  their  part  sent  to  them  just 
as  soon  as  could  be,  and  I  don't  wonder  at  it ;  for  all  those 
South  American  countries  are  as  poor  as  beggars,  and  if 
any  one  of  them  got  a  sum  of  money  like  that,  it  could 
buy  up  all  the  others,  if  it  felt  like  spending  the  money 
in  that  way ! 

"Those  Peruvians  were  in  such  a  hurry  to  get  the 
treasure  that  they  wouldn't  agree  to  have  the  gold 
coined  into  money,  or  to  be  sent  a  part  at  a  time,  or 
to  take  drafts  for  it;  but  they  wanted  it  just  as  it  was 
as  soon  as  they  could  get  it,  and,  as  it  was  their  own,  no 
body  could  hinder  them  from  doing  what  they  pleased 
with  it.  Shirley  and  I  have  made  up  our  minds  that 
most  likely  the  present  government  thought  that  they 
wouldn't  be  in  office  when  the  money  arrived  if  they 
didn't  have  it  on  hand  in  pretty  short  order;  and,  of 
course,  if  they  got  their  fingers  on  that  treasure,  they 
could  stay  in  power  as  long  as  they  pleased. 

"  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  any  government  could  be 
such  fools,  —  for  they  ordered  it  all  shipped  on  an  ordi 
nary  merchant  vessel,  an  English  steamer,  the  Dwikery 
Beacon,  which  was  pretty  nigh  ready  to  sail  for  Lima. 
Now,  any  other  government  in  this  world  would  have 
sent  a  man-of-war  for  that  gold,  or  some  sort  of  an 
armed  vessel  to  convoy  it,  but  that  wasn't  the  way  with 
the  Peruvians !  They  wanted  their  money,  and  they 
wanted  it  by  the  first  steamer  which  could  be  got  ready 


176  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

to  sail.  They  weren't  going  to  wait  until  they  got  one 
of  their  cruisers  over  to  England,  —  not  they ! 

"The  quickest  way,  of  course,  would  have  been  to 
ship  it  to  Aspinwall,  and  then  take  it  by  rail  to  Panama, 
and  from  there  ship  it  to  Lima,  but  I  suppose  they  were 
afraid  to  do  that.  If  that  sort  of  freight  had  been  car 
ried  overland,  they  couldn't  have  hindered  people  from 
finding  out  what  it  was,  and  pretty  nearly  everybody  in 
Central  America  would  have  turned  train-robber.  Any 
way,  the  agents  over  there  got  the  Dunkery  Beacon  to 
sail  a  little  before  her  regular  time. 

"  Now  here  comes  the  point !  They  actually  shipped 
a  hundred  and  sixty  million  dollars'  worth  of  pure  gold  on 
a  merchant  steamer  that  was  going  on  a  regular  voyage, 
and  would  actually  touch  at  Jamaica  and  Rio  Jan 
eiro  on  account  of  her  other  freight,  instead  of  buying 
her  outright,  or  sending  her  on  the  straightest  cruise  she 
could  make  for  Lima !  Just  think  of  that !  More  than 
that,  this  business  was  so  talked  about  by  the  Peruvian 
agents,  while  they  were  trying  to  get  the  earliest  steamer 
possible  for  it,  that  it  was  heard  of  in  a  good  many  more 
ports  than  one ! 

"  Well,  this  steamer  with  all  the  gold  on  board  sailed 
just  as  soon  as  it  could ;  and  the  very  next  day  our 
London  bankers  got  a  telegram  from  Paris  from  the 
head  of  a  detective  bureau  there  to  tell  them  that  no  less 
than  three  vessels  were  fitting  out  in  the  biggest  kind  of 
hurry  to  go  after  that  slow  merchant  steamer  with  the 
millions  on  board  !  " 

Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy  uttered  a  simultaneous  cry  of 


A  TELEGRAM    FROM   CAPTAIN   HORN  177 

horror.  "  Do  you  mean  they're  pirates,  and  are  going  to 
steal  the  gold  ?  "  cried  Mrs.  Cliff. 

"  Of  course  they  are  ! "  continued  Burke.  "  And  I 
don't  wonder  at  it !  Why,  I  don't  believe  such  a  cargo 
of  gold  ever  left  a  port  since  the  beginning  of  the  world ! 
For  such  a  thing  as  that  is  enough  to  tempt  anybody 
with  the  smallest  streak  of  rascal  blood  in  him  and  who 
could  get  hold  of  a  ship ! 

"Well,  these  three  vessels  were  fitting  out  hard  as 
they  could,  —  two  in  France,  at  Toulon  and  Marseilles, 
and  one  in  Genoa;  and  although  the  detectives  were 
almost  positive  what  their  business  was,  they  were  not 
sure  that  they  could  get  proof  enough  to  stop  them. 
If  the  Dunkery  Beacon  had  been  going  on  a  straight 
voyage,  even  to  Bio  Janeiro,  she  might  have  got 
away  from  them,  but,  you  see,  she  was  goin'  to  touch 
at  Jamaica! 

"And  now,  now,  —  this  very  minute,  —  that  slow  old 
steamer  and  those  three  pirates  are  on  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  together !  Why,  it  makes  your  blood  creep  to 
think  of  it!" 

"  Indeed  it  does !  It's  awful !  "  cried  Mrs.  Cliff.  "  And 
what  are  the  London  people  going  to  do  ?  " 

"  They're  not  going  to  do  anything  so  far  as  I  know ! " 
said  Burke.  "  If  they  could  get  through  with  the  red- 
tape  business  necessary  to  send  any  sort  of  a  cruiser 
or  war-vessel  after  the  Dunkery  Beacon  to  protect  her, 
---and  I'm  not  sure  that  they  could  do  it  at  all,  —  it 
would  be  a  precious  long  time  before  such  a  vessel 
would  leave  the  English  Channel !  But  I  don't  think 


178  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

that  they'll  try  anything  of  the  sort;  all  I  know  is, 
that  the  London  people  sent  a  cable  message  to  Captain 
Horn.  I  suppose  that  they  thought  he  ought  to  know 
what  was  likely  to  happen,  coiisiderin'  that  he  was  the 
head  man  in  the  whole  business  !  " 

"And  what  did  the  Captain  do?"  cried  Mrs.  Cliff. 
"What  could  he  do?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  answered  Burke.  "  I  expect  he  did 
everything  that  could  be  done  in  the  way  of  sending 
messages;  and  among  other  things,  he  sent  that  tele 
gram,  about  a  thousand  words  more  or  less,  to  Shirley. 
He  might  have  telegraphed  to  me,  perhaps,  but  he 
didn't  know  my  address,  as  I  was  wandering  around. 
But  Shirley,  you  know,  is  a  fixture  in  his  shipyard ;  — 
and  so  he  sent  it  to  him ! " 

"I  haven't  a  doubt,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "that  he  would 
have  telegraphed  to  you  if  he  had  known  where  you 
were ! " 

"I  hope  so,"  said  Burke.  "And  when  he  had  told 
Shirley  all  that  had  happened,  he  asked  him  to  pull  up 
stakes,  and  sail  by  the  first  steamer  he  could  catch  for 
Jamaica.  There  was  a  chance  that  he  might  get  there 
before  the  Dunkery  Beacon  arrived,  or  while  she  was 
in  port,  and  then  he  could  tell  everything  to  make  her 
captain  understand  that  he  needn't  be  afraid  to  lose  any 
thing  on  account  of  his  ship  stopping  in  Kingston  harbor 
until  arrangements  could  be  made  for  his  carrying  his 
gold  in  safety  to  Lima.  Captain  Horn  didn't  think  that 
the  pirates  would  try  to  do  anything  before  the  Dun 
kery  Beacon  left  Kingston.  They  would  just  follow 


A   TELEGRAM   FROM   CAPTAIN   HORN  179 

her  until  she  got  into  the  South  Atlantic,  and  then 
board  her,  most  likely  ! 

"  Captain  Horn  said  that  he  was  going  to  Jamaica  too, 
but  as  he  didn't  know  how  soon  he  would  be  able  to  sail 
from  Vera  Cruz,  he  wanted  Shirley  to  go  ahead  without 
losing  a  minute.  And  then  Shirley  he  telegraphed  to  me 
up  at  Plainton,  —  thinking  I  was  there  and  that  I  ought 
to  know  all  about  it,  and  the  women  at  my  house  took 
so  long  forwarding  it  that  I  did  not  get  it  until  yester 
day  evening,  and  then  I  rushed  around  to  where  Shirley 
was  staying,  and  got  there  just  in  time  to  catch  him,  for 
the  next  steamer  to  Jamaica  sailed  early  this  morning. 
But  he  had  plenty  of  time  to  tell  me  everything. 

"The  minute  he  got  the  Captain's  telegram,  he  just 
dropped  everything  and  started  for  New  York.  And  I 
can  tell  you,  Mrs.  Cliff,  I'd  have  done  the  same,  for 
I  don't  know  what  I  wouldn't  do  to  get  the  chance  to 
see  Captain  Horn  again !  " 

"  And  you  wanted  to  go  with  Mr.  Shirley  ?  "  said  Mrs. 
Cliff,  with  an  eager  light  in  her  eyes. 

"  Indeed  I  did ! "  said  Burke.  "  But,  of  course,  I 
wouldn't  think  of  such  a  thing  as  going  off  and  leaving 
you  here  with  that  yacht  on  your  hands,  and  no  knowing 
what  you  would  do  with  the  people  on  board,  and  every 
thing  else !  So  I  saw  Shirley  off  about  seven  o'clock  this 
morning,  and  then  I  came  to  report  to  you." 

"  That  was  too  much  to  expect,  Mr.  Burke,"  said  Mrs. 
Cliff,  "but  it  was  just  like  you,  and  I  shall  never  forget 
it!  But,  now  tell  me  one  thing,  —  is  Mrs.  Horn  going 
to  Jamaica  with  the  Captain  ?  " 


180  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

u  I  don't  know,"  said  Burke,  "  but,  of  course,  she  must 
be  —  he  wouldn't  leave  her  alone  in  Mexico ! " 

"Of  course  she  is!"  cried  Mrs.  Cliff.  "And  Mr. 
Shirley  will  see  them !  And  oh,  Mr.  Burke,  why  can't 
we  see  them  ?  Of  all  things  in  the  world  I  want  to 
see  Edna,  and  the  Captain  too!  And  why  can't  we  go 
straight  to  Jamaica  in  the  Summer  Shelter  instead  of 
going  anywhere  else  ?  We  may  get  there  before  they 
all  leave ;  don't  you  think  we  could  do  that  ?  " 

The  eyes  of  Captain  Burke  fairly  blazed.  "Do  it!" 
he  cried,  springing  to  his  feet  "I  believe  we  can  do 
it ;  at  any  rate  we  can  try !  The  same  to  you,  madam, 
I  would  do  anything  in  the  world  to  see  Captain  Horn, 
and  nobody  knows  when  we  will  have  the  chance! 
Well,  madam,  it's  all  the  plainest  kind  of  sailing;  we 
can  get  off  at  daylight  to-morrow  morning,  and  if  that 
yacht  sails  as  they  told  me  she  sails,  I  believe  we  may 
overhaul  Shirley,  and,  perhaps,  we  will  get  to  Kingston 
before  any  of  them !  And  now  I've  got  to  bounce  around, 
for  there's  a  good  deal  to  be  done  before  nightfall !  " 

"  But  what  about  the  Synod  ?  "  asked  Willy  Croup. 

"  Bless  my  soul ! "  exclaimed  Mr.  Burke,  stopping  sud 
denly  on  his  way  to  the  door.  "  I  forgot  the  Synod." 

Mrs.  Cliff  hesitated  for  a  moment.  "  I  don't  think  it 
need  make  any  difference !  It  would  be  a  great  shame  to 
disappoint  all  those  good  men ;  why  couldn't  we  take 
them  along  all  the  same  ?  Their  weight  wouldn't  make 
the  yacht  go  any  slower,  would  it,  Mr.  Burke  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it !  "  said  he.  "  But  they  may  not  want  to 
go  so  far.  Besides,  if  we  fiud  the  Captain  at  Kingston, 


A  TELEGRAM  FROM  CAPTAIN  HORN     181 

we  mayn't  feel  like  going  back  in  a  hurry.  I'll  tell  you 
what  we  could  do,  Mrs.  Cliff!  We  wouldn't  lose  any 
time  worth  speaking  of  if  we  touched  at  Nassau,  —  that's 
in  the  Bahamas,  and  a  jolly  place  to  go  to.  Then  we 
might  discharge  our  cargo  of  ministers,  and  if  you  paid 
their  board  until  the  next  steamer  sailed  for  New  York, 
and  their  passage  home,  I  should  think  they  would  be 
just  as  well  satisfied  as  if  they  came  back  with  us ! " 

Mrs.  Cliff  reflected.  "  That's  true ! "  said  she,  presently. 
"  I  can  explain  the  case  to  them,  and  I  don't  see  why 
they  should  not  be  satisfied.  And  as  for  me,  nobody 
could  be  more  willing  than  I  am  to  give  pleasure  to  these 
ministers,  but  I  don't  believe  that  I  could  give  up  seeing 
Edna  and  Captain  Horn  for  the  sake  of  any  members  of 
any  Synod ! " 

"All  right,  madam!"  cried  the  impatient  Burke. 
"  You  settle  the  matter  with  the  parsons,  and  I  haven't 
a  doubt  you  can  make  it  all  right ;  and  I'll  be  off ! 
Everything  has  got  to  be  on  board  to-night.  I'll  come 
after  you  early  this  evening."  With  this  he  departed. 

When  Mr.  Burke  had  gone,  Mrs.  Cliff,  very  much 
excited  by  what  she  had  heard  and  by  the  thought  of 
what  she  was  going  to  do,  told  Willy  that  she  could  go 
on  with  the  packing  while  she  herself  went  over  to  the 
church  in  Brooklyn  and  explained  matters  to  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Synod  who  intended  to  go  with  her,  and  give 
them  a  chance  to  decide  whether  or  not  the  plan  proposed 
by  Mr.  Burke  would  suit  them. 

She  carried  out  this  intention  and  drove  to  Brooklyn 
in  a  carriage,  but,  having  been  delayed  by  many  things 


182  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

which  Willy  wanted  to  know  about  the  packing,  and 
having  forgotten  in  what  street  the  church  was  situated, 
she  lost  a  good  deal  of  time ;  and  when  she  reached  her 
destination  she  found  that  the  Synod  had  adjourned  sine 
die. 

Mrs.  Cliff  sighed.  It  was  a  great  pity  to  have  taken 
so  much  trouble,  especially  when  time  was  so  precious, 
but  she  had  done  what  she  could.  It  would  be  impossible 
for  her  to  find  the  members  in  their  temporary  places  of 
abode,  and  the  only  thing  she  could  do  now  was  to  tell 
them  the  change  in  her  plans  when  they  came  on  board 
that  evening,  and  then,  if  they  did  not  care  to  sail  with 
her,  they  would  have  plenty  of  time  to  go  on  shore  again. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
THE  "SUMMER  SHELTER"  GOES  TO  SEA 

MR.  BURKE  did  not  arrive  to  escort  Mrs.  Cliff  and 
Willy  Croup  to  the  yacht  until  nearly  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  They  had  sent  their  baggage  to  the  vessel 
in  the  afternoon,  and  had  now  been  expecting  him,  with 
great  impatience,  for  nearly  an  hour,  but  when  Mr. 
Burke  arrived,  it  was  impossible  to  find  fault  with  him, 
for  he  had  been  busy,  he  said,  every  minute  of  the  day. 

He  had  made  up  a  full  crew;  he  had  a  good  sailing- 
master,  and  the  first  mate  who  had  been  on  the  yacht 
before;  everything  that  he  could  think  of  in  the  way 
of  provisions  and  stores  were  on  board,  and  there  was 


THE   "SUMMER    SHELTER"    GOES   TO   SEA       183 

nothing  to  prevent  their  getting  out  of  the  harbor  early 
in  the  morning. 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  stepped  on  board  her  yacht,  the  Sum 
mer  Shelter,  her  first  thought  was  directed  towards  her 
guests  of  the  Synod ;  and  when  the  mate,  Mr.  Burdette, 
had  advanced  and  been  introduced  to  her,  she  asked  him 
if  any  of  the  clergymen  had  yet  appeared. 

".They're  all  aboard,  madam,"  said  he  —  "  fourteen  of 
them !  They  came  aboard  about  seven  o'clock,  and  they 
stayed  in  the  saloon  until  about  half-past  nine,  and  one  of 
them  came  to  me  and  said  that  as  they  were  very  tired 
they  thought  they'd  go  to  bed,  thinking,  most  likely,  as 
it  was  then  so  late  you  wouldn't  come  aboard  until  morn 
ing.  So  the  steward  showed  them  their  state-rooms,  and 
we  had  to  get  one  more  ready  than  we  expected  to,  and 
they're  now  all  fast  asleep ;  but  I  suppose  I  could  arouse 
some  of  them  up  if  you  want  to  see  them ! " 

Mrs.  Cliff  turned  to  Burke  with  an  expression  of  de 
spair  on  her  face.  "  What  in  the  world  shall  I  do  ?  " 
said  she.  "I  wanted  to  tell  them  all  about  it  and  let 
them  decide,  but  it  would  be  horrible  to  make  any  of 
them  who  didn't  care  to  go  to  get  up  and  dress  and  go 
out  into  this  damp  night  air  to  look  for  a  hotel ! " 

"  Well,"  said  Burke,  "  all  that's  going  ashore  has  got 
to  go  ashore  to-night.  We'll  sail  as  soon  as  it  is  day 
light  !  If  I  was  you,  Mrs.  Cliff,  I  wouldn't  bother  about 
them.  You  invited  them  to  go  to  the  Bahamas,  and 
you're  going  to  take  them  there,  and  you're  going  to 
send  them  back  the  best  way  you  can,  and  I'm.  willing 
to  bet  a  clipper  ship  against  your  yacht  that  they  will 


184  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

be  just  as  well  satisfied  to  come  back  in  a  regular 
steamer  as  to  come  back  in  this !  You  might  offer  to 
send  them  over  to  Savannah,  and  let  them  come  up  by 
rail,  —  they  might  like  that  for  a  change!  The  way  the 
thing  looks  to  me,  madam,  you're  proposing  to  give  them 
a  good  deal  more  than  you  promised." 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "one  thing  is  certain!  I'm 
not  going  to  turn  any  of  them  out  of  their  warm  beds 
this  night ;  and  we  might  as  well  go  to  our  rooms,  for  it 
must  be  a  good  deal  after  ten." 

When  Willy  Croup  beheld  her  little  state-room,  she 
stood  at  the  door  and  looked  in  at  it  with  rapture.  She 
had  a  beautiful  chamber  in  Mrs.  Cliffs  new  house,  fully 
and  elegantly  furnished,  but  there  was  something  about 
this  little  bit  of  a  bedroom,  with  all  its  nautical  conven 
iences,  its  hooks,  and  shelves,  and  racks,  its  dear  little 
window,  and  its  two  pretty  berths, — each  just  big 
enough  and  not  a  bit  too  big,  —  which  charmed  her  as 
no  room  she  had  ever  seen  had  charmed  her. 

The  Summer  Shelter  must  have  started,  Mrs.  Cliff 
thought,  before  daylight  the  next  morning,  for  when  she 
was  awakened  by  the  motion  of  the  engine  it  was  not 
light  enough  to  distinguish  objects  in  the  room.  But 
she  lay  quietly  in  hej  berth,  and  let  her  proud  thoughts 
mount  high  and  spread  wide.  As  far  as  the  possession 
of  wealth  and  the  sense  of  power  could  elevate  the  soul 
of  woman,  it  now  elevated  the  soul  of  Mrs.  Cliff. 

This  was  her  own  ship  which  was  going  out  upon  the 
ocean !  This  was  her  engine  which  was  making  every 
thing  shake  and  tremble !  The  great  screw  which  was 


THE   "SUMMER   SHELTER"   GOES   TO   SEA      185 

dashing  the  water  at  the  stern  and  forcing  the  vessel 
through  the  waves  belonged  to  her!  Everything  — 
the  smoke-stacks,  the  tall  masts,  the  nautical  instru 
ments  —  was  her  property  !  The  crew  and  stewards,  the 
engineers,  were  all  in  her  service !  She  was  going  to 
the  beautiful  island  of  the  sunny  tropics  because  she 
herself  had  chosen  to  go  there ! 

It  was  with  great  satisfaction,  too,  that  she  thought 
of  the  cost  of  all  this.  A  great  deal  of  money  had  been 
paid  for  that  yacht,  and  it  had  relieved,  as  scarcely 
any  other  expenditure  she  would  be  likely  to  make 
could  have  relieved,  the  strain  upon  her  mind  occa 
sioned  by  the  pressure  'of  her  income.  Even  after  the 
building  of  her  new  apartments  her  money  had  been 
getting  the  better  of  her.  Now  she  felt  that  she  was 
getting  the  better  of  her  money. 

By  the  way  the  yacht  rolled  and,  at  the  same  time, 
pitched  and  tossed,  Mrs.  Cliff  thought  it  likely  that 
they  must  be  out  upon  the  open  sea,  or,  at  least,  well 
down  the  outer  bay.  She  liked  the  motion,  and  the 
feeling  that  her  property,  moving  according  to  her  will, 
was  riding  dominant  over  the  waves  of  the  sea,  sent  a 
genial  glow  through  every  vein.  It  was  now  quite  light, 
and  when  Mrs.  Cliff  got  up  and  looked  out  of  her  round 
window  she  could  see,  far  away  to  the  right,  the  tower 
ing  lighthouses  of  Sandy  Hook. 

About  eight  o'clock  she  dressed  and  went  out  on  deck. 
She  was  proud  of  her  good  sailing  qualities.  As  she 
went  up  the  companion-way,  holding  firmly  to  the  bright 
brass  rail,  she  felt  no  more  fear  of  falling  than  if  she 


186  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

had  been  one  of  the  crew.  When  she-  came  out  on  the 
upper  deck,  she  had  scarcely  time  to  look  about  her, 
when  a  man,  whom  at  first  sight  she  took  for  a  stranger, 
came  forward  with  outstretched  hand.  But  in  an  in 
stant  she  saw  it  was  not  a  stranger,  —  it  was  Captain 
Burke,  but  not  as  she  had  ever  seen  him  before.  He 
was  dressed  in  a  complete  suit  of  white  duck  with  gold 
buttons,  and  he  wore  a  white  cap  trimmed  with  gold,  — 
an  attire  so  different  from  his  high  silk  hat  and  the  furs 
that  it  was  no  wonder  that  at  first  she  did  not  recognize 
their  wearer. 

"  Why,  Captain  Burke, "  she  cried,  "  I  didn't  know 
you ! " 

"No  wonder, "  said  he ;  "this  is  a  considerable  change 
from  my  ordinary  toggery,  but  it's  the  uniform  of  a  cap 
tain  of  a  yacht;  you  see  that's  different  from  what  it 
would  be  if  I  commanded  a  merchant  vessel,  or  a  liner,  or 
a  man-of-war ! " 

"  It  looks  awfully  cool  for  such  weather, "  said  she. 

"  Yes, ''  said  the  Captain,  "  but  it's  the  proper  thing ; 
and  yachts,  you  know,  generally  cruise  around  in 
warmish  weather.  However,  we're  getting  south  as  fast 
as  we  can.  I  tell  you,  madam,  this  yacht  is  a  good  one  ! 
We've  just  cast  the  log,  and  she's  doing  better  than  four 
teen  knots  an  hour,  and  we  haven't  got  full  steam  on, 
either !  It  seems  funny,  madam,  for  me  to  command  a 
steamer,  but  I'll  get  used  to  it  in  no  time.  If  it  was  a 
sailing-vessel,  it  wouldn't  be  anything  out  of  the  way, 
because  I've  studied  navigation,  and  I  know  more  about 
a  ship  than  many  a  skipper,  but  a  steam  yacht  is  differ- 


THE   "  SUMMER   SHELTER  "    GOES   TO   SEA       187 

ent!  However,  I've  got  men  under  me  who  know  how 
to  do  what  I  order  them  to  do,  and  if  necessary  they're 
ready  to  tell  me  what  I  ought  to  order ! " 

"  I  don't  believe  there  could  be  a  better  captain," 
said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "  and  I  do  hope  you  won't  take  cold !  And 
now  I  want  to  see  the  ministers  as  soon  as  they  are 
ready.  I  think  it  will  be  well  for  me  to  receive  them  up 
here.  I  am  not  sure  that  I  remember  properly  the  names 
of  all  of  them,  but  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  ask  them,  and 
then  I  shall  present  each  one  of  them  to  you :  it  will 
be  a  sort  of  a  reception,  you  know !  After  that  we  can  all 
go  on  pleasantly  like  one  family.  We  will  have  to  have  a 
pretty  big  table  in  the  saloon,  but  I  suppose  we  can 
manage  that ! " 

"Oh  yes,"  said  Mr.  Burke;  "and  now  I'll  see  the 
steward  and  tell  him  to  let  the  parsons  know  that  you're 
ready  to  receive  them." 

About  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  this  the  steward  ap 
peared  on  deck,  and  approaching  Mrs.  Cliff  and  the  Cap 
tain,  touched  his  hat.  "Come  to  report,  sir,"  said  he, 
"  the  ministers  are  all  sea-sick !  There  ain't  none  of 
them  wants  to  get  out  of  their  berths,  but  some  of  them 
want  tea." 

Mrs.  Cliff  and  the  Captain  could  not  help  laughing, 
although  she  declared  it  was  not  a  laughing  matter. 

"  But  it  isn't  surprising,"  said  the  Captain  ;  "  it's  pretty 
rough,  and  I  suppose  they're  all  thorough-bred  landsmen. 
But  they'll  get  over  it  before  long,  and  when  they  come 
on  deck  it's  likely  it  will  be  pleasanter  weather.  We're 
having  a  considerable  blow  just  now,  and  it  will  be  worse 


188  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

when  we  get  farther  out !  So  I  should  say  that  you  and 
Miss  Croup  and  myself  had  better  have  our  breakfast." 

The  steward  was  still  standing  by,  and  he  touched  his 
hat  again,  this  time  to  Mrs.  Cliff. 

"  The  other  lady  is  very  sea-sick !  I  heard  her  groan 
ing  fearfully  as  I  passed  her  door." 

"Oh,  I  must  go  down  to  Willy,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff. 
"And,  Captain,  you  and  I  will  have  to  breakfast 
together." 

As  Mrs.  Cliff  opened  the  door  of  Willy  Croup's  state 
room,  a  pale  white  face  in  the  lower  berth  was  turned 
towards  her,  and  a  weak  and  trembling  voice  said  to  her, 
"  Oh,  Sarah,  you  have  come  at  last !  Is  there  any  way 
of  getting  me  out  of  this  horrible  little  hole  ?  " 

For  two  days  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Captain  Burke  break 
fasted,  dined,  and  supped  by  themselves.  They  had 
head-winds,  and  the  sea  was  very  rough,  and  although 
the  yacht  did  not  make  the  time  that  might  have  been 
expected  of  her  in  fair  weather,  she  did  very  well,  and 
Burke  was  satisfied.  The  two  stewards  were  kept  very 
busy  with  the  prostrate  and  dejected  members  of  the 
Synod,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  and  the  stewardess  devoted  their 
best  efforts  to  the  alleviation  of  the  woes  of  Willy, 
which  they  were  glad  to  see  were  daily  dwindling. 

They  had  rounded  Cape  Hatteras,  the  sea  was  smoother, 
the  cold  wind  had  gone  down,  and  Willy  Croup,  warmly 
wrapped  up,  was  sitting  in  a  steamer  chair  on  deck.  The 
desire  that  she  might  suddenly  be  transferred  to  Plainton 
or  to  heaven  was  gradually  fading  out  of  her  mind,  and 
the  blue  sky,  the  distant  waves,  and  the  thought  of  the 


THE   "SUMMER    SHELTER"   GOES   TO   SEA       189 

approaching  ineal  were  exercising  a  somewhat  pleasur 
able  influence  upon  her  dreamy  feeling,  when  Captain 
Burke,  who  stood  near  with  a  telescope,  announced  that 
the  steamer  over  there  on  the  horizon  line  was  heading 
south  and  that  he  had  a  notion  she  was  the  Antonina, 
the  vessel  on  which  Shirley  had  sailed. 

"  I  believed  that  we  could  overhaul  her ! "  said  he  to 
Mrs.  Cliff.  "  I  didn't  know  much  about  her  sailing  qual 
ities,  but  I  had  no  reason  to  believe  she  has  the  speed  of 
this  yacht,  and,  as  we're  on  the  same  course,  I  thought  it 
likely  we  would  sight  her,  and  what's  more,  pass  her. 
We'll  change  our  course  a  little  so  that  we  will  be  closer 
to  her  when  we  pass." 

Mrs.  Cliff,  who  had  taken  the  glass,  but  could  not  see 
through  it  very  well,  returned  it  to  the  Captain  and 
remarked,  "  If  we  can  go  so  much  faster  than  she  does, 
why  can't  we  take  Mr.  Shirley  on  board  when  we  catch 
up  to  her?" 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  Burke.  "  To  do  that, 
both  vessels  would  have  to  lay  to  and  lose  time,  and  she 
might  not  want  to  do  it  as  she's  a  regular  steamer,  and 
carries  the  mail.  And  besides,  if  Shirley's  under  orders, 
—  that  is,  the  same  thing  as  orders,  —  to  go  straight  to 
Jamaica,  I  don't  know  that  we  have  any  right  to  take 
him  off  his  steamer  and  carry  him  to  Nassau.  Of  course, 
he  might  get  to  Jamaica  just  as  soon,  and  perhaps 
sooner,  if  he  sailed  with  us,  but  we  don't  know  it !  We 
may  be  delayed  in  some  way ;  there're  lots  of  things 
that  might  happen,  and  anyway,  I  don't  believe  in  inter 
fering  with  orders,  and  I  know  Shirley  doesn't  either. 


190  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

I  believe  he  would  want  to  keep  on.  Besides,  we  don't 
really  know  yet  that  that's  the  Antonina." 

A  couple  of  hours,  however,  proved  that  Captain 
Burke's  surmise  had  been  correct,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  the  two  vessels  were  abreast  of  each  other.  The 
yacht  had  put  on  all  steam  and  had  proved  herself  ca 
pable  of  lively  speed.  As  the  two  vessels  approached 
within  hailing  distance,  Captain  Burke  went  up  on  the 
little  bridge,  with  a  speaking-trumpet,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  Shirley  was  on  the  bridge  of  the  other 
steamer,  with  another  trumpet. 

To  the  roaring  conversation  which  now  took  place, 
everybody  on  each  vessel  who  was  not  too  sick,  who  had 
no  duties,  or  could  be  spared  from  them,  listened  with 
the  most  lively  interest.  A  colloquy  upon  the  lonely  sea 
between  two  persons,  one  upon  one  vessel  and  the  other 
upon  another,  must  always  be  an  incident  of  absorbing 
importance. 

Very  naturally  Shirley  was  amazed  to  find  it  was  his 
friend  Burke  who  was  roaring  at  him,  and  delighted 
when  he  was  informed  that  the  yacht  was  also  on  its  way 
to  Jamaica  to  meet  Captain  Horn.  After  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  of  high-sounding  talk,  during  which  Shirley  was 
informed  of  Burke's  intention  to  touch  at  Nassau,  the 
interview  terminated;  the  Summer  Shelter  shaping  her 
course  a  little  more  to  the  south,  by  night-fall  the  Anto 
nina  had  faded  out  of  sight  on  the  northeast  horizon. 

"I  shouldn't  wonder,"  said  Captain  Burke  at  dinner, 
"if  we  got  to  Jamaica  before  her  anyway,  although  we're 
bound  to  lose  time  in  the  harbor  at  Nassau." 


THE   "SUMMER   SHELTER"    GOES   TO   SEA       191 

The  company  at  the  dinner-table  was  larger  than  it 
had  yet  been.  Five  members  of  the  Synod  had  appeared 
on  deck  during  the  speaking-trumpet  conversation,  and 
feeling  well  enough  to  stay  there,  had  been  warmly 
greeted  and  congratulated  by  Mrs.  Cliff.  The  idea  of  a 
formal  reception  had,  of  course,  been  given  up,  and  there 
was  no  need  of  presenting  these  gentlemen  to  the  Captain, 
for  he  had  previously  visited  all  of  his  clerical  passengers 
in  their  berths,  and  was  thus  qualified  to  present  them 
to  Mrs.  Cliff  as  fast  as  they  should  make  their  appearance. 
At  dinner-time  two  more  came  into  the  saloon,  and  the 
next  morning  at  breakfast  the  delegation  from  the  Synod 
were  all  present,  with  the  exception  of  two  whose  minds 
were  not  yet  quite  capable  of  properly  appreciating  the 
subject  of  nutrition. 

When  at  last  the  Summer  Shelter  found  herself  in  the 
smoother  waters  and  the  warmer  air  of  the  Gulf  Stream, 
when  the  nautilus  spread  its  gay-colored  sail  in  the  sun 
light  by  the  side  of  the  yacht,  when  the  porpoises  flashed 
their  shining  black  bodies  out  of  the  water  and  plunged 
in  again  as  they  raced  with  the  swiftly  moving  vessel, 
when  great  flocks  of  flying-fish  would  rise  into  the  air, 
skim  high  above  the  water,  and  then  all  fall  back  again 
with  a  patter  as  of  big  rain-drops,  and  the  people  on  the 
deck  of  the  Summer  Shelter  took  off  their  heavy  wraps 
and  unbuttoned  their  coats,  it  was  a  happy  company 
which  sailed  with  Mrs.  Cliff  among  the  beautiful  isles  of 
the  West  Indies. 


192  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

WILLY   CROUP   COMES    TO   THE    FRONT 

THE  pleasant  rays  of  the  semi-tropical  sun  so  warmed 
and  subsequently  melted  the  varied  dispositions  of  the 
company  on  board  the  Summer  Shelter  that  in  spite  of 
their  very  different  natures  they  became  fused,  as  it  were, 
into  a  happy  party  of  friends. 

Willy  Croup  actually  felt  as  if  she  were  a  young 
woman  in  a  large  party  of  gentlemen  with  no  rivals. 
She  was  not  young,  but  many  of  her  youthful  qualities 
still  remained  with  her,  and  under  the  influence  of  her 
surroundings  they  all  budded  out  and  blossomed  bravely. 
At  the  end  of  a  day  of  fine  weather  there  was  not  a 
clergyman  on  board  who  did  not  wish  that  Miss  Croup 
belonged  to  his  congregation. 

As  for  the  members  of  the  Synod,  there  could  be  no 
doubt  that  they  were  thoroughly  enjoying  themselves. 
Tired  with  the  long  winter's  work,  and  rejoiced,  almost 
amazed,  to  be  so  suddenly  freed  from  the  cold  wintry 
weather  of  their  homes,  all  of  their  spirits  rose  and  most 
of  their  hearts  were  merry. 

There  were  but  few  gray  heads  among  these  clergymen, 
and  the  majority  of  them  were  under  middle  age.  Some 
of  them  had  been  almost  strangers  to  each  other  when 
they  came  on  board,  but  now  there  were  no  strangers  on 
the  Summer  Shelter.  Some  of  them  had  crossed  the 
Atlantic,  but  not  one  had  ever  taken  a  coastwise  voyage 
on  a  comparatively  small  vessel,  and  although  the  con- 


WILLY   CROUP   COMES   TO   THE   FiiONT          193 

sequence  of  this  new  experience,  their  involuntary  seclu 
sion  of  the  first  days  of  the  trip,  and  their  consequent 
unconventional  and  irregular  acceptance  of  Mrs.  Cliff's 
hospitality,  had  caused  a  little  stiffness  in  their  demeanor 
at  first,  this  speedily  disappeared,  hand  in  hand  with  the 
recollection  of  that  most  easily  forgotten  of  human  ills 
which  had  so  rudely  interfered  with  their  good  manners. 

As  far  as  the  resources  of  their  portmanteaus  would 
allow,  these  reverend  clergymen  dressed  themselves 
simply  and  in  semi-nautical  costumes.  Some  played 
quoits  upon  the  upper  deck,  in  which  sport  Willy  joined. 
Others  climbed  up  the  shrouds,  preferably  on  the  inside, 
—  this  method  of  exercise,  although  very  difficult,  being 
considered  safer  in  case  of  a  sudden  lurch  of  the  vessel. 
And  the  many  other  sportive  things  they  did,  and  the 
many  pleasant  anecdotes  they  told,  nearly  all  relating  to 
the  discomfiture  of  clergymen  under  various  embarrassing 
circumstances,  caused  Captain  Burke  to  say  to  Mrs.  Cliff 
that  he  had  never  imagined  that  parsons  were  such  jolly 
fellows,  and  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  he  would  be 
glad  to  take  out  another  party  of  them. 

"  But  if  we  do,"  he  said,  "  I  think  we'd  better  ship 
them  on  a  tug  and  let  them  cruise  around  the  Lightship 
for  two  or  three  days.  Then  when  they  hoisted  a  sig 
nal  that  they  were  all  well  on  board,  we  could  go  out 
and  take  them  off.  In  that  way,  you  see,  they'd  really 
enjoy  a  cruise  on  the  Summer  Shelter." 

As  the  sun  went  down  behind  the  distant  coast  of 
Florida  they  were  boarded  by  a  negro  pilot,  and  in 
the  morning  they  awoke  to  find  themselves  fast  to  a 


194  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

pier  of  the  city  of  Nassau,  lying  white  in  the  early 
daylight. 

The  members  of  the  Synod  had  readily  agreed  to  Mrs. 
Cliffs  plan  to  leave  them  at  Nassau  and  let  them  return 
by  a  regular  passenger  steamer,  and  they  all  preferred  to 
go  by  sea  to  Savannah  and  then  to  their  homes  by  rail. 
With  expenses  paid,  none  but  the  most  unreasonable  of 
men  could  have  objected  to  such  a  plan. 

As  Captain  Burke  announced  that  he  would  stop  at 
Nassau  for  a  day  to  take  in  some  fresh  stores,  especially 
of  fruit  and  vegetables,  and  to  give  Mrs.  Cliff  ami  Willy 
Croup  an  opportunity  to  see  the  place,  the  Summer 
Shelter  was  soon  deserted.  But  in  the  evening,  every 
body  returned  on  board,  as  the  company  wished  to  keep 
together  as  long  as  possible,  and  there  would  be  plenty 
of  time  in  the  morning  for  the  members  of  the  Synod  to 
disembark  and  go  to  the  hotel. 

Very  early  in  the  morning  Captain  Burke  was  aroused 
by  the  entrance  of  the  sailing-master,  Mr.  Portman,  into 
his  state-room.  "  'Morning,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Portman.  "  I 
want  you  to  come  out  here  and  look  at  something ! " 

Perceiving  by  the  manner  and  tones  of  the  other  that 
there  was  something  important  to  be  looked  at,  Captain 
Burke  jumped  up,  quickly  dressed  himself,  and  went 
out  on  deck.  There,  fastened  against  the  fore-mast, 
was  a  large  piece  of  paper  on  which  were  written  these 
words :  — 

"We  don't  intend  to  sail  on  a  filibustering  cruise. 
We  know  what  it  means  when  you  take  on  arms  in  New 
York,  and  discharge  your  respectable  passengers  in 


THERE,     FASTENED    AGAINST    THE     FOREMAST,     WAS    A    LARGE 
PIECE    OF    PAPER 


WILLY   CROUP   COMES   TO   THE   FKONT  195 

Nassau.  We  don't  want  nothing  to  do  with  your  next 
lot  of  passengers,  and  don't  intend  to  get  into  no  scrapes. 
So  good-bye !  (Signed)  The  Crew." 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say,"  cried  Burke,  "  that  the  crew 
has  deserted  the  vessel  ?  " 

"That's  what  it  is,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Burdette,  the  first 
mate,  who  had  just  joined  them.  "  The  crew  has  cleared 
out  to  a  man  !  Mr.  Portman  and  I  are  left,  the  engineer's 
left  and  his  assistant,  —  they  belonged  to  the  yacht  and 
don't  have  much  to  do  with  the  crew,  —  but  the  rest's  all 
gone !  Deckhands,  stewards,  and  even  the  cook.  The 
stewardess  must  have  gone  too,  for  I  haven't  seen  her." 

"  What's  the  meaning  of  all  this,"  shouted  Burke,  his 
face  getting  very  red.  "  When  did  they  go,  and  why  did 
they  go  ?  " 

"  It's  the  second  mate's  watch,  and  he  is  off  with  them," 
said  Mr.  Burdette.  "  I  expect  he's  at  the  bottom  of  it. 
He's  a  mighty  wary  fellow.  Just  as  like  as  not  he 
spread  the  report  that  we  were  going  on  a  filibustering 
expedition  to  Cuba,  and  the  ground  for  it,  in  my  opinion, 
is  those  cases  of  arms  you  opened  the  other  day  !  " 

"I  think  that  is  it,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Portman.  "You 
know  there's  a  rising  in  Cuba,  and  there  was  lots  of  talk 
about  filibustering  before  we  left.  I  expect  the  people 
thought  that  the  ladies  were  going  on  shore  the  same  as 
the  parsons." 

Burke  was  confounded.  He  knew  not  what  to  say  or 
what  to  think,  but  seeing  Mrs.  Cliff  appearing  at  the 
head  of  the  companion-way,  he  thought  it  his  first 
duty  to  go  and  report  the  state  of  affairs  to  her,  which 


196  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

he  did.  That  lady's  astonishment  and  dismay  were  very 
great. 

"  What  are  we  going  to  do  ?  "  she  asked.  "  And  what 
do  you  mean  by  the  cases  of  arms  ?  " 

"I'm  afraid  that  was  a  piece  of  folly  on  my  part," 
said  Burke. 

"  I  didn't  know  we  had  arms  on  board ! " 

"Well,  what  we  have  don't  amount  to  much,"  said 
Burke.  "  But  this  was  the  way  of  it.  After  I  heard 
the  message  from  Captain  Horn  about  the  pirates,  and 
everything,  and  as  I  didn't  know  exactly  what  sort  of 
craft  we  would  meet  round  about  Jamaica,  I  thought  we 
would  feel  a  good  deal  safer,  especially  on  account  of 
you  and  Miss  Croup,  if  we  had  some  firearms  aboard. 
So  I  put  in  some  repeating  rifles  and  ammunition,  and  I 
paid  for  them  out  of  my  own  pocket!  Such  things 
always  come  in  useful,  and  while  I  was  commanding 
the  vessel  on  which  you  were  sailing,  Mrs.  Cliff,  I  didn't 
want  to  feel  that  I'd  left  anything  undone  which  ought 
to  be  done.  Of  course,  there  was  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  we  would  ever  have  to  use  them,  but  I  knew  I  would 
feel  better  if  I  had  them.  But  there  was  one  thing  I 
needn't  have  done,  and  that  was,  —  I  needn't  have 
opened  them,  which  I  did  the  other  day  in  company 
with  Mr.  Burdette,  because  I  hadn't  had  time  before  to 
examine  them,  and  I  wanted  to  see  what  they  were. 
Some  of  the  crew  must  have  noticed  the  guns,  and  as 
they  couldn't  think  why  we  wanted  them,  unless  we 
were  going  on  a  filibustering  expedition,  they  got  that 
notion  into  their  heads  and  so  cut  the  ship.  It  was  easy 


WILLY  CROUP   COMES   TO   THE   FRONT          197 

enough  to  do  it,  for  we  were  moored  to  a  pier,  and  the 
second  mate,  whose  watch  they  went  away  in,  was  most 
likely  at  the  head  of  the  whole  business ! " 

"  But  what  are  we  going  to  do  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Cliff. 

"  I  must  get  another  crew  just  as  soon  as  I  can,"  said 
he,  "  and  there  isn't  a  minute  to  be  lost !  I  was  stretch 
ing  a  point  when  I  agreed  to  stop  over  a  day,  but  I 
thought  we  could  afford  that  and  reach  Kingston  as  soon 
as  Shirley  does,  but  when  he  gets  there  with  his  message 
to  the  Captain  of  the  Durikery  Beacon,  I  want  to  be  on 
hand.  There's  no  knowing  what  will  have  to  be  done, 
or  what  will  have  to  be  said.  I  don't  want  Shirley  to 
think  that  he's  got  nobody  to  stand  by  him ! " 

"Indeed,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "we  ought  to  lose  no  time, 
for  Captain  Horn  may  be  there.  It  is  a  most  dreadful 
misfortune  to  lose  the  crew  this  way !  Can't  you  find 
them  again  ?  Can't  you  make  them  come  back  ?  " 

"  If  they  don't  want  to  be  found,"  •>  said  Burke,  "  it 
will  take  a  good  while  to  find  them.  But  I'm  going 
on  shore  this  minute,  and  I  wish  you  would  be  good 
enough  to  tell  Miss  Croup  and  the  ministers  how  matters 
stand ! " 

The  news  of  the  desertion  of  the  crew  when  told  by 
Mrs.  Cliff  to  those  of  the  passengers  who  had  come  on 
deck,  and  speedily  communicated  by  these  to  their  com 
panions,  created  a  great  sensation.  Willy  Croup  was  so 
affected  that  she  began  to  cry.  "  Is  there  any  danger  ?  " 
she  said ;  "  and  hadn't  we  better  go  on  shore  ?  Suppose 
some  other  vessel  wanted  to  come  up  to  this  wharf,  and 
we  had  to  move  away,  —  there's  nobody  to  move  us ! 


198  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

And  suppose  we  were  to  get  loose  in  some  way,  there's 
nobody  to  stop  us ! " 

"You  are  very  practical,  Miss  Croup,"  remarked  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Hodgson,  the  youngest  clergyman  on 
board.  "But  I  am  sure  you  need  not  have  the  least 
fear.  We  are  moored  firm  and  fast,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
Captain  Burke  will  soon  arrive  with  the  necessary  men 
to  take  you  to  Jamaica." 

Willy  dried  her  eyes,  and  then  she  said,  "There's 
another  practical  thing  I'm  thinking  of,  —  there  isn't 
any  breakfast,  and  the  cook's  gone !  But  I  believe  we 
can  arrange  that.  I  could  cook  the  breakfast  myself 
if  I  had  anybody  to  help  me.  I'll  go  speak  to  Mrs. 
Cliff." 

Mrs.  Cliff  was  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that  they  all 
ought  to  have  breakfast,  and  that  she  and  Willy  could 
at  least  make  coffee,  and  serve  the  passengers  with  bread 
and  butter  and  preserved  meats,  but  she  remarked  to 
Mr.  Hodgson  that  perhaps  the  gentlemen  would  rather 
go  to  their  hotels  and  get  their  breakfast. 

"No  indeed,"  said  Mr.  Hodgson,  a  stout,  sun-browned 
fellow,  who  looked  more  like  a  hunter  than  a  clergyman. 
"  We  have  been  talking  over  the  matter,  and  we  are  not 
going  to  desert  you  until  the  new  men  come.  And  as  to 
breakfast,  here  are  Mr.  Litchfield  and  myself  ready  to 
serve  as  stewards,  assistants,  cooks,  or  in  any  culinary 
capacity.  We  both  have  camped  out  and  are  not  green 
hands.  So  you  must  let  us  help  you,  and  we  shall  con 
sider  it  good  fun." 

"It  will  be  funny,"  said  Willy,  "to  see  a  minister 


WILLY  CROUP  COMES  TO  THE  FRONT     199 

cook  !  So  let's  go  down  to  the  kitchen.  I  know  where 
it  is,  for  I've  been  in  it ! " 

"I  think,  Miss  Croup,"  said  Mr.  Litchfield,  a  tall 
young  man  with  black  hair  and  side  whiskers,  and  a 
good  deal  of  manner,  "that  you  should  say  galley  or 
caboose,  now  that  we  are  all  nautical  together." 

"Well,  I  can't  cook  nautical,"  said  Willy,  "and  I 
don't  intend  to  try !  But  I  guess  you  can  eat  the  food 
if  it  isn't  strictly  naval." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  volunteer  cooks  were  all  at 
work,  and  Willy's  familiarity  with  household  affairs, 
even  when  exhibited  under  the  present  novel  condi 
tions,  shone  out  brightly.  She  found  some  cold  boiled 
potatoes,  and  soon  set  Mr.  Hodgson  to  work  frying 
them.  Mrs.  Cliff  took  the  coffee  in  hand  with  all  her 
ante-millionnaire  skill,  and  Willy  skipped  from  one  thing 
to  another,  as  happy  as  most  people  are  whose  ability 
has  suddenly  forced  them  to  the  front. 

"  Oh,  you  ought  to  see  the  Synod  setting  the  table ! " 
she  cried,  bursting  into  the  galley.  "They're  getting 
things  all  wrong,  but  it  doesn't  matter,  and  they  seem 
to  be  enjoying  it.  Now  then,  Mr.  Litchfield,  I  think 
you  have  cut  all'  the  bread  that  can  possibly  be 
eaten ! " 

Mr.  Burdette  had  gone  on  shore  with  the  Captain,  and 
Mr.  Portman  considered  it  his  duty  to  remain  on  deck, 
but  the  volunteer  corps  of  cooks  and  stewards  did  their 
work  with  hearty  good-will,  and  the  breakfast  would 
have  been  the  most  jolly  meal  that  they  had  yet  enjoyed 
together  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  uncertainty  and 


200  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

• 

uneasiness  naturally  occasioned  by  the  desertion  of  the 
crew. 

It  was  after  ten  o'clock  when  Captain  Burke  and  Mr. 
Burdette  returned.  "  We're  in  a  bad  fix,"  said  the  former, 
approaching  Mrs.  Cliff,  who,  with  all  the  passengers,  had 
been  standing  together  watching  them  come  down  the 
pier.  "  There  was  a  steamer  cleared  from  here  the  day 
before  yesterday  which  was  short-handed,  and  seems  to 
have  carried  off  all  the  available  able  seamen  in  the  port. 
But  I  believe  that  is  all  stuff  and  nonsense !  the  real  fact 
seems  to  be,  —  and  Mr.  Burdette  and  I've  agreed  on  that 
point,  —  that  the  report  has  got  out  that  we're  filibusters, 
and  nobody  wants  to  ship  with  us!  Everything  looks 
like  it,  you  see.  Here  we  come  from  New  York  with  a 
regular  lot  of  passengers,  but  we've  got  arms  on  board, 
and  we  drop  the  passengers  here  and  let  them  go  home 
some  other  way,  and  we  sail  on,  saying  we're  bound  for 
Jamaica  —  for  Cuba  is  a  good  deal  nearer,  you  know. 
But  the  worst  thing  is  this,  and  I'm  bound  to  tell  it  so 
that  you  can  all  know  how  the  case  stands  and  take 
care  of  yourselves  as  you  think  best.  There's  reason 
to  believe  that  if  the  government  of  this  place  has  not 
already  had  its  eye  on  us,  it  will  have  its  eye  on  us 
before  very  long,  and  for  my  part  I'd  give  a  good  deal 
of  money  to  be  able  to  get  away  before  they  do;  but 
without  a  crew  we  can't  do  it!" 

Mrs.  Cliff  and  Burke  now  retired  to  consult.  "  Madam," 
said  he,  "  I'm  bound  to  ask  you  as  owner,  what  do  you 
think  we  ought  to  do  ?  If  you  take  my  advice,  the  first 
thing  to  be  done  is  to  get  rid  of  the  ministers.  You  can 


WILLY   CROUP   COMES  TO   THE   FRONT  201 

settle  with  them  about  their  travelling  and  let  them  go 
to  their  hotels.  Then  perhaps  I  can  rake  up  a  few 
loafers,  landsmen,  or  anybody  who  can  shovel  coal  or 
push  on  a  capstan  bar,  and  by  offering  them  double 
wages  .get  them  to  ship  with  us.  Once  in  Jamaica,  we 
shall  be  all  right !  " 

"  But  don't  you  think  it  will  be  dangerous,"  said  Mrs. 
Cliff,  "  to  go  around  offering  extra  pay  in  this  way  ?  " 

"  That  may  be,"  he  answered,  "  but  what  else  is  there 
to  do  ?  " 

At  this  moment  Mr.  Litchfield  approached.  "  Madam," 
said  he,  "we  have  been  discussing  the  unfortunate  cir 
cumstances  in  which  you  find  yourself  placed,  and  we 
now  ask  if  you  have  made  any  plans  in  regard  to  your 
future  action  ?  " 

"The  circumstances  are  truly  unfortunate,"  replied 
Mrs.  Cliff;  "for  we  are  anxious  to  get  to  Jamaica  as 
soon  as  possible  on  account  of  very  important  business, 
and  I  don't  see  how  we  are  to  do  it.  We  have  made  no 
plans,  except  that  we  feel  it  will  be  well  for  you  gentle 
men  to  leave  us  and  go  to  your  hotel,  where  you  can  stay 
until  the  steamer  will  sail  for  Savannah  day  after  to 
morrow.  As  for  ourselves,  we  don't  know  what  we  are 
going  to  do.  Unless,  indeed,  some  sort  of  a  vessel  may 
be  starting  for  Jamaica,  and  in  that  case  we  could  leave 
the  Summer  Shelter  here  and  go  on  her." 

"  No,"  said  Burke,  "  I  thought  of  that  and  inquired. 
Nothing  will  sail  under  a  week,  and  in  that  time  every 
body  we  want  to  see  may  have  left  Jamaica  ! " 

"  Will    you   excuse   me  for    a    few   minutes  ? "   said 


202  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

Mr.  Litchfield,  and  with  that  he  returned  to  his  com 
panions. 

"Captain,"  said  Willy,  "won't  you  come  down  and 
have  your  breakfast?  I  don't  believe  you  have  eaten 
a  thing,  and  you  look  as  if  you  needed  it !  " 

Captain  Burke  really  did  look  as  if  he  needed  a  good 
many  things, — among  others,  a  comb  and  a  brush.  His 
gold-trimmed  cap  was  pushed  on  the  back  of  his  head; 
his  white  coat  was  unbuttoned,  and  the  collar  turned  in ; 
and  his  countenance  was  troubled  by  the  belief  that 
his  want  of  prudence  had  brought  Mrs.  Cliff  and  her 
property  into  a  very  serious  predicament 

"Thank  you,"  said  he,  "but  I  can't  eat  Breakfast 
is  the  last  thing  I  can  think  of  just  now  ! " 

Now  approached  Mr.  Litchfield,  followed  by  all  his 
clerical  brethren.  "Madam,"  said  he,  "we  have  had  a 
final  consultation  and  have  come  to  make  a  proposition 
to  you  and  the  Captain.  We  do  not  feel  that  we  would 
be  the  kind  of  men  we  would  like  to  think  we  are,  if, 
after  all  your  kindness  and  great  consideration,  we 
should  step  on  shore  and  continue  the  very  delightful 
programme  you  have  laid  out  fdr  us,  while  you  are  left 
in  doubt,  perplexity,  and  perhaps  danger,  on  your 
yacht.  There  are  five  of  us  who  feel  that  they  cannot 
join  in  the  offer  which  I  am  about  to  make  to  you  and 
the  Captain,  but  the  rest  of  us  wish  most  earnestly  and 
heartily  to  offer  you  our  services  —  if  you  think  they 
are  worth  anything  —  to  work  this  vessel  to  Jamaica. 
It  is  but  a  trip  of  a  few  days  I  am  told,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  we  can  return  to  New  York  from  Kingston 


CHANGES   ON   THE    "SUMMER   SHELTER"        203 

almost  as  conveniently  as  we  can  from  here.  We  can  all 
write  home  and  arrange  for  any  contingencies  which  may 
arise  on  account  of  the  delay  in  our  return.  In  fact,  it 
will  not  be  difficult  for  most  of  us  to  consider  this  ex 
cursion  as  a  part,  or  even  the  whole,  of  our  annual 
vacation.  Those  of  us  who  can  go  with  you  are  all 
able-bodied  fellows,  and  if  you  say  so,  Captain,  we 
will  turn  in  and  go  to  work  this  moment.  We  have 
not  any  nautical  experience,  but  we  all  have  powers  of 
observation,  and  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  judge,  I  believe 
I  can  do  most  of  the  things  I  have  seen  done  on  this 
vessel  by  your  common  seamen,  if  that  is  what  you  call 
them ! " 

Mrs.  Cliff  looked  at  Captain  Burke,  and  he  looked  at 
her.  "  If  it  was  a  sailin'-vessel,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I'd  say 
she  couldn't  be  worked  by  parsons,  but  a  steamer's  dif 
ferent!  By  George!  madam,  let's  take  them,  and  get 
away  while  we  can ! " 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


WHEN  Captain  Burke  communicated  to  Mr.  Portman 
and  Mr.  Burdette  the  news  that  nine  of  their  passengers 
had  offered  to  ship  as  a  crew,  the  sailing-master  and  the 
first  mate  shook  their  heads.  They  did  not  believe  that 
the  vessel  could  be  worked  by  parsons. 

"  But  there  isn't  anybody  else ! "   exclaimed   Burke. 


204  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"  We've  got  to  get  away,  and  they're  all  able-bodied,  and 
they  have  more  sense  than  most  landsmen  we  can  ship. 
And  besides,  here  are  five  experienced  seamen  on  board, 
and  I  say,  let's  try  the  parsons." 

"  All  right,"  said  Mr.  Burdette.  "  If  you're  willing  to 
risk  it,  I  am." 

Mr.  Portman  also  said  he  was  willing,  and  the  engi 
neer  and  his  assistant,  who  were  getting  very  nervous, 
agreed  to  the  plan  as  soon  as  they  heard  of  it. 

Captain  Burke  shook  himself,  pulled  his  cap  to  the 
front  of  his  head,  arranged  his  coat  properly  and  but 
toned  it  up,  and  began  to  give  orders.  "Now,  then," 
said  he,  "all  passengers  going  ashore,  please  step 
lively  !  "  And  while  this  lively  stepping  was  going  on, 
and  during  the  leave-taking  and  rapid  writing  of  notes 
to  be  sent  to  the  homes  of  the  clerical  crew,  he  ordered 
Mr.  Burdette  to  secure  a  pilot,  attend  to  the  clearance 
business,  and  make  everything  ready  to  cast  off  and  get 
out  of  the  harbor  as  soon  as  possible. 

When  the  five  reverend  gentlemen  who  had  decided 
not  to  accompany  the  Summer  Skelter  in  her  further 
voyaging  had  departed  for  the  hotel,  portmanteaus  in 
hand,  and  amply  furnished  by  Mrs.  Cliff  with  funds  for 
their  return  to  their  homes,  the  volunteer  crew,  most  of 
them  without  coats  or  waistcoats,  and  all  in  a  high  pic 
nic  spirit,  set  to  work  with  enthusiasm,  doing  more 
things  than  they  knew  how  to  do,  and  embarrassing 
Mr.  Burdette  a  good  deal  by  their  over-willingness  to 
make  themselves  useful.  But  this  untrained  alacrity 
was  soon  toned  down,  and  early  in  the  afternoon,  the 


CHANGES   ON   THE   "  SUMMER   SHELTER  "        205 

hawsers  of  the  Summer  Shelter  were  cast  off,  and  she 
steamed  out  of  the  eastern  passage  of  the  harbor. 

There  were  remarks  made  in  the  town  after  the  de 
parture  of  the  yacht ;  but  when  the  passengers  who 
had  been  left  behind,  all  clergymen  of  high  repute,  had 
related  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  had  made  it  under 
stood  that  the  yacht,  whose  filibustering  purpose  had 
been  suspected  by  its  former  crew,  was  now  manned 
by  nine  members  of  the  Synod  recently  convened  in 
Brooklyn,  and  under  the  personal  direction  of  Mrs.  Cliff, 
an  elderly  and  charitable  resident  of  Plainton,  Maine, 
all  distrust  was  dropped,  and  was  succeeded  in  some 
instances  by  the  hope  that  the  yacht  might  not  be 
wrecked  before  it  reached  Jamaica. 

The  pilot  left  the  Summer  Shelter ;  three  of  the 
clergymen  shovelled  coal ;  four  of  them  served  as  deck 
hands ;  and  two  others  ran  around  as  assistant  cooks 
and  stewards  ;  Mr.  Portman  and  Mr.  Burdette  lent  their 
hands  to  things  which  were  not  at  all  in  their  line  of 
duty;  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy  pared  the  vegetables,  and 
cooked  without  ever  thinking  of  stopping  to  fan  them 
selves  ;  while  Captain  Burke  flew  around  like  half-a- 
dozen  men,  with  a  good  word  for  everybody,  and  a  hand 
to  help  wherever  needed.  It  was  truly  a  jolly  voyage 
from  Nassau  to  Kingston. 

The  new  crew  was  divided  into  messes,  and  Mrs.  Cliff 
insisted  that  they  should  come  to  the  table  in  the  saloon, 
no  matter  how  they  looked  or  what  they  had  been  do 
ing  :  on  her  vessel  a  coal-heaver  off  duty  was  as  good  as 
a  Captain,  —  while  the  clergymen  good-humoredly  en- 


206  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

deavored  to  preserve  the  relative  lowliness  of  their  posi 
tions,  each  actuated  by  a  zealous  desire  to  show  what  a 
good  deck  hand  or  steward  he  could  make  when  circum 
stances  demanded  it. 

Working  hard,  laughing  much,  eating  most  heartily, 
and  sleeping  well,  the  busy  and  hilarious  little  party  on 
board  the  Summer  Shelter  steamed  into  the  harbor  of 
Kingston,  after  a  much  shorter  voyage  than  is  generally 
made  from  Nassau  to  that  port. 

"  If  I  could  get  a  crew  of  jolly  parsons,"  cried  Captain 
Burke,  "and  could  give  them  a  mouth's  training  on 
board  this  yacht,  I'd  rather  have  them  than  any  crew 
that  could  be  got  together  from  Cape  Horn  to  the  North 
Pole ! " 

"  And  by  the  time  you  had  made  able  seamen  of  them," 
said  Mr.  Burdette,  who  was  of  a  conventional  turn  of 
mind,  "  they'd  all  go  back  to  their  pulpits  and  preach ! " 

"And  preach  better!"  said  Mr.  Litchfield,  who  was 
standing  by.  "  Yes,  sir,  I  believe  they  would  all  preach 
better ! " 

When  the  anchor  was  dropped,  not  quite  so  promptly 
as  it  would  have  been  done  if  the  clerical  crew  had  had 
any  previous  practice  in  this  operation,  Mr.  Burke  was 
about  to  give  orders  to  lower  a  boat, — for  he  was  anx 
ious  to  get  on  shore  as  soon  as  possible,  —  when  he  per 
ceived  a  large  boat  rowed  by  six  men  and  with  a  man  in 
the  stern,  rapidly  approaching  the  yacht.  If  they  were 
port  officials,  he  thought,  they  were  extremely  prompt, 
but  he  soon  saw  that  the  man  in  the  stern,  who  stood  up 
and  waved  a  handkerchief,  was  his  old  friend  Shirley. 


CHANGES   ON    THE   "SUMMER    SHELTER"        207 

"  He  must  have  been  watching  for  us,"  said  Captain 
Burke  to  Mrs.  Cliff,  "  and  he  put  out  from  one  of  the 
wharves  as  soon  as  we  hove  in  sight.  Shirley  is  a  good 
fellow !  You  can  trust  to  him  to  look  out  for  his 
friends !  " 

In  a  very  short  time  the  six  powerful  negro  oarsmen 
had  Shirley's  boat  alongside,  and  in  a  few  seconds  after 
that,  he  stood  upon  the  deck  of  the  Summer  Shelter. 
Burke  was  about  to  spring  forward  to  greet  his  old  com 
rade,  but  he  stepped  back  to  give  way  to  Mrs.  Cliff,  who 
seized  the  hand  of  Shirley  and  bade  him  a  most  hearty 
welcome,  although,  had  she  met  him  by  herself  else 
where,  she  would  not  have  recognized  him  in  the  neat 
travelling  suit  which  he  now  wore. 

Shirley  was  delighted  to  meet  Burke  and  Mrs.  Cliff, 
he  expressed  pleasure  in  making  the  acquaintance  of 
Miss  Croup,  who,  standing  by  Mrs.  Cliff's  side,  was 
quickly  introduced,  and  he  looked  with  astonishment  at 
the  body  of  queer-looking  men  who  were  gathered  on  the 
deck,  and  who  appeared  to  be  the  crew  of  the  yacht. 
But  he  wasted  no  time  in  friendly  greetings  nor  in  ask 
ing  questions,  but  quickly  informed  Burke  that  they 
were  all  too  late,  and  that  the  Durikery  Beacon  had 
sailed  two  days  before. 

"  And  weren't  you  here  to  board  her  ?  "  cried  Burke. 

"  No,"  said  Shirley ;  "  our  steamer  didn't  arrive  until 
last  night ! " 

Burke  and  Mrs.  Cliff  looked  at  each  other  in  dismay. 
Tears  began  to  come  into  Willy  Croup's  eyes,  as  they 
nearly  always  did  when  anything  unusual  suddenly  hap- 


208  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

pened,  and  all  the  members  of  the  Synod,  together 
with  Mr.  Portman  and  Mr.  Burdette,  and  even  the  two 
engineers,  who  had  come  up  from  below,  pressed  close 
around  Shirley,  eager  to  hear  what  next  should  be  said. 

Everybody  on  board  had  been  informed  during  the 
trip  from  Nassau  of  the  errand  of  the  yacht,  for  Mrs. 
Cliff  thought  she  would  be  treating  those  generous  and 
kind-hearted  clergymen  very  badly  if  she  did  not  let 
them  know  the  nature  of  the  good  work  in  which  they 
were  engaged.  And  so  it  had  happened  that  everybody  who 
had  sailed  from  Nassau  on  the  yacht  had  hoped,  —  more 
than  that,  had  even  expected,  —  for  the  Dunkery  Beacon 
was  known  to  be  a  very  slow  steamer,  —  to  find  her  in  the 
harbor  of  Kingston  taking  on  goods  or  perhaps  coaling, 
and  now  all  knew  that  even  Shirley  had  been  too  late. 

"This  is  dreadful!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Cliff,  who  was 
almost  on  the  point  of  imitating  Willy  in  the  matter 
of  tears.  "  And  they  haven't  any  idea,  of  course,  of 
the  dangers  which  await  them." 

"  I  don't  see  how  they  could  know,"  said  Shirley, 
"  for  of  course  if  they  had  known,  they  wouldn't  have 
sailed ! " 

"Did  you  hear  anything  about  her?"  asked  Burke. 
"  Was  she  all  right  when  she  arrived  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  that ! "  was  the  answer.  "  I 
made  inquiries  last  night  about  the  people  who  would 
most  likely  be  consignees  here,  and  this  morning  I 
went  to  a  house  on  Harbor  Street,  —  Beaver  &  Hughes. 
This  house,  in  a  way,  is  the  Jamaica  agent  of  the  owners. 
I  got  there  before  the  office  was  open,  but  I  didn't  find 


CHANGES    ON   THE    "  SUMMER    SHELTER  "         209 

out  much.  She  delivered  some  cargo  to  them  and  had 
sailed  on  time  !  " 

"  By  George ! "  cried  Burke,  "  Captain  Horn  was  right ! 
They  could  hardly  get  a  chance  to  safely  interfere  with 
her  until  she  had  sailed  from  Kingston,  and  now  I  bet 
they  are  waiting  for  her  outside  the  Caribbees ! " 

"That's  just  what  I  thought,"  said  Shirley;  "but  of 
course  I  didn't  say  anything  to  these  people,  and  I  soon 
found  out  they  didn't  know  much  except  so  far  as  their 
own  business  was  concerned.  It's  pretty  certain  from 
what  I  have  heard  that  she  didn't  find  any  letters  here 
that  would  make  her  change  her  course  or  do  anything 
out  of  the  way,  —  but  I  did  find  something !  While  I  was 
talking  with  one  of  the  heads  of  the  house,  the  mail 
from  New  York,  which  had  come  over  in  my  steamer 
too  late  to  be  delivered  the  night  before,  was  brought  in, 
and  one  of  the  letters  was  a  cable  message  from  London 
to  New  York  to  be  forwarded  by  mail  to  Jamaica,  and  it 
was  directed  to  '  Captain  Hagar,  of  the  Dunkery  Beacon, 
care  of  Beaver  &  Hughes.'  As  I  had  been  asking  about 
the  steamer,  Beaver  or  Hughes,  whichever  it  was,  men 
tioned  the  message.  I  told  him  on  the  spot  that  I 
thought  it  was  his  duty  to  open  it,  for  I  was  very  sure 
it  was  on  important  business.  He  considered  for  a 
while,  saying  that  perhaps  the  proper  thing  was  to 
send  it  on  after  Captain  Hagar  by  mail ;  but  when  he 
had  thought  about  it  a  little  he  said  perhaps  he  had  bet 
ter  open  it,  and  he  did.  The  words  were  just  these :  — 

"  <  On  no  account  leave  Kingston  Harbor  until  further 
orders.  —  Blackburn.'  Blackburn  is  the  head  owner/' 


210  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"What  did  you  say  then,"  ;isk«-<l  Mrs.  Cliff,  very  ear 
nestly,  "  and  what  did  he  say  ?  " 

"I  didn't  say  anything  about  her  being  a  treasure 
ship,"  replied  Shirley.  "  If  it  was  not  known  in  Jamaica 
that  she  was  carrying  that  gold,  I  wasn't  going  to  tell 
it;  for  there  are  as  many  black-hearted  scoundrels  here 
as  in  any  other  part  of  the  world!  But  I  told  the 
Beaver  &  Hughes  people  that  I  also  had  a  message  for 
Captain  Hagar,  and  that  a  friend  of  mine  was  coining  to 
Kingston  in  a  yacht,  and  that  if  he  arrived  soon  I  hadn't 
a  doubt  that  we  could  overhaul  the  Dunkery  Beacon,  and 
give  the  Captain  my  message  and  the  one  from  London 
besides,  and  that  we'd  try  to  do  it,  for  it  was  very  im 
portant.  But  they  didn't  know  me,  and  they  said  they 
would  wait  until  my  friend's  yacht  should  arrive,  and 
then  they  would  see  about  sending  the  message  to  Cap 
tain  Hagar.  Now,  I've  done  enough  talking,  and  we 
must  do  something !  " 

"  What  do  you  think  we  ought  to  do  ?  "  asked  Burke. 

"  Well,  I  say,"  answered  Shirley,  "  if  you  have  any 
passengers  to  put  ashore  here,  put  them  ashore,  and 
then  let's  go  after  the  Dunkery  Beacon  and  deliver  the 
message.  A  stern  chase  is  a  long  chase,  but  if  I'm  to 
judge  by  the  way  this  yacht  caught  up  to  the  Antonina 
and  passed  her,  I  believe  there's  a  good  chance  of  over 
hauling  the  Dunkery  Beacon  before  the  pirates  get  hold 
of  her.  Then  all  she's  got  to  do  is  to  steam  back  to 
Kingston." 

"  But  suppose  the  pirates  come  before  she  gets  back," 
said  Mrs.  Cliff. 


CHANGES   ON   THE   "  SUMMER   SHELTER  "        211 

"  Well,  they  won't  fool  with  her  if  she  is  in  com 
pany,"  replied  Shirley.  "  Now,  and  what  do  you  say  ?  " 
he  asked,  addressing  Burke,  but  glancing  around  at  the 
others.  "  I  don't  know  how  this  ship's  company  is 
made  up,  or  how  long  a  stop  you  are  thinking  of  mak 
ing  here,  or  anything  about  it !  But  you're  the  owner, 
Mrs.  Cliff,  and  if  you  lend  Burke  and  me  your  yacht, 
I  reckon  he'll  be  ready  enough  to  steam  after  the  Dun- 
kery  Beacon  and  deliver  the  messages.  It's  a  thing 
which  Captain  Horn  has  set  his  heart  upon,  and  it's  a 
thing  which  ought  to  be  done  if  it  can  be  done,  and  this 
yacht,  I  believe,  is  the  vessel  that  can  do  it ! " 

During  this  speech  Mr.  Burke,  generally  so  eager  to 
speak  and  to  act,  had  stood  silent  and  troubled.  He 
agreed  with  Shirley  that  the  thing  to  do  was  to  go  after 
the  Durikery  Beacon  at  the  best  speed  the  yacht  could 
make.  He  did  not  believe  that  Mrs.  Cliff  would  object 
to  his  sailing  away  with  her  yacht  on  this  most  important 
errand,  —  but  he  remembered  that  he  had  no  crew. 
These  parsons  must  be  put  off  at  Kingston,  and  although 
he  had  had  no  doubt  whatever  that  he  could  get  a  crew 
in  this  port,  he  had  expected  to  have  a  week,  and  per 
haps  more,  in  which  to  do  it.  To  collect  in  an  hour  or 
two  a  crew  which  he  could  trust  with  the  knowledge 
which  would  most  likely  come  to  them  in  some  way  or 
other  that  the  steamer  they  were  chasing  carried  untold 
wealth,  was  hardly  to  be  thought  of. 

"  As  far  as  I  am  concerned,"  cried  Mrs.  Cliff,  "  my 
yacht  may  go  after  that  steamer  just  as  soon  as  she  can 
be  started  away ! " 


212  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"  And  what  do  you  say,  Burke  ?  "  exclaimed  Shirley. 

Burke  did  not  answer.  He  was  trying  to  decide 
whether  or  not  he  and  Shirley,  with  Burdette  and  Port- 
man,  and  the  two  engineers  could  work  the  yacht.  But 
before  he  had  even  a  chance  to  speak,  Mr.  Hodgson 
stepped  forward  and  exclaimed :  — 

"I'll  stick  to  the  yacht  until  she  has  accomplished 
her  business!  I'd  just  as  soon  make  my  vacation  a 
week  longer  as  not.  I  can  cut  it  off  somewhere  else. 
If  you  are  thinking  about  your  crew,  Captain,  I 
want  to  say  that  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  am  one 
volunteer ! " 

"  And  I  am  another ! "  said  Mr.  Litchfield.  "  Now 
tha$  I  know  how  absolutely  essential  it  is  that  the 
Dunkery  Beacon  should  be  overtaken,  I  would  not  for  a 
moment  even  consider  the  surrender  of  my  position  upon 
this  vessel,  which  I  assure  you,  madam,  I  consider  as  an 
honor ! " 

Mr.  Shirley  stared  in  amazement  at  the  speaker.  What 
sort  of  a  seaman  was  this  ?  His  face  and  hands  were 
dirty,  but  he  had  been  shovelling  coal ;  but  such  speech 
Shirley  had  never  heard  from  mariners'  lips.  The  rest 
of  the  crew  seemed  very  odd,  and  now  he  noticed  for  the 
first  time  that  although  many  of  them  were  in  their  shirt 
sleeves,  nearly  all  wore  black  trousers.  He  could  not 
understand  it. 

"  Mr.  Litchfield,  sir,"  said  a  large,  heavy  man  with  a 
nose  burned  very  red,  a  travelling  cap  upon  his  head, 
and  wearing  a  stiffly  starched  shirt  which  had  once  been 
white,  no  collar,  and  a  waistcoat  cut  very  straight  iii 


CHANGES   ON   THE   "  SUMMEB   SHELTER  "        213 

front,  now  opened,  but  intended  to  be  buttoned  up  very 
high,  "  I  believe  Mr.  Litchfield  has  voiced  the  sentiments 
of  us  all.  As  he  was  speaking,  I  looked  from  one  brother 
to  another,  and  I  think  I  am  right." 

"  You  are  right ! "  cried  every  one  of  the  sturdy 
fellows  who  had  so  recently  stepped  from  Synod  to  yacht. 

"  I  knew  it !  "  exultingly  exclaimed  the  speaker.  "  I 
felt  it  in  my  heart  of  hearts !  Madam,  and  Captain, 
knowing  what  we  do  we  are  not  the  men  to  desert 
you  when  it  is  found  necessary  to  continue  the  voyage 
for  a  little  !  " 

"And  what  would  happen  to  us  if  we  did  leave  the 
yacht?"  said  another.  "We  might  simply  have  to 
remain  at  Kingston  until  you  returned.  Oh  no,  we 
wouldn't  think  of  it!" 

"  Burke, "  said  Shirley,  in  a  low  tone,  "  who  are  these 
people?" 

"Can't  tell  you  now,"  said  Burke,  his  eyes  glistening, 
"  you  might  tumble  overboard  backwards  if  I  did !  Gen 
tlemen,"  he  cried,  turning  to  his  crew,  "you're  a  royal 
lot!  And  if  any  of  you  ever  ask  me  to  stand  by  you, 
I'll  do  it  while  there's  breath  in  my  body!  And  now, 
madam,"  said  he,  his  doubt  and  perplexity  gone  and  his 
face  animated  by  the  necessity  of  immediate  action,  "  I 
can't  now  say  anything  about  your  kindness  in  lending 
us  your  yacht,  but  if  you  and  Miss  Croup  want  to  go 
ashore,  here  is  a  boat  alongside." 

"Go  ashore!"  screamed  Mrs.  Cliff.  "What  are  you 
talking  about?  If  anybody  stays  on  this  yacht,  I  do! 
I  wouldn't  think  of  such  a  thing  as  going  ashore ! " 


214  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"Nor  I !  "  cried  Willy.  "  What's  got  into  your  head, 
Mr.  Burke,  — do  you  intend  to  go  without  eating?" 

"Ladies,"  cried  Burke,  "you  are  truly  trumps,  and 
that's  all  I've  got  to  say!  And  we'll  get  out  of  this 
harbor  just  as  fast  as  we  can!" 

"Look  here,"  cried  Shirley,  running  after  Burke  to 
the  captain's  room;  "I've  got  to  go  ashore  again  and 
get  that  cable  message!  We  must  have  authority  to 
turn  that  steamer  back  if  we  overhaul  her,  and  I've  got 
to  have  somebody  to  go  with  me.  But  before  we  do 
anything  you  must  take  time  to  tell  me  who  these  queer- 
looking  customers  are  that  you've  got  on  board." 

Burke  shut  the  door  of  his  room,  and  in  as  few  words 
as  possible  he  explained  how  some  of  the  members  of 
the  recent  Synod  happened  to  be  acting  as  crew  of  the 
yacht.  Shirley  was  a  quiet  and  rather  a  sedate  man,  but 
when  he  heard  this  tale,  he  dropped  into  a  chair,  leaned 
back,  stretched  out  his  legs,  and  laughed  until  his  voice 
failed  him. 

"Oh,  it's  all  funny  enough,"  said  Burke,  almost  as 
merry  as  his  friend,  "  but  they're  good  ones,  I  can  tell 
you  that!  You  couldn't  get  together  a  better  set  of 
landsmen,  and  I  tell  you  what  I'll  do.  If  you  want 
anybody  to  go  with  you  to  certify  that  you  are  all  right, 
I'll  send  a  couple  of  parsons!  " 

"Just  what  I  want!  "  cried  Shirley. 

Burke  quickly  stepped  out  on  deck,  and  calling  the 
mate,  "Mr.  Burdette,"  he  said,  "I  want  you  to  detail 
the  Reverend  Charles  Attlebury  and  Reverend  Mr.  Gil- 
lingham  to  go  ashore  with  Mr.  Shirley.  Tell  them  to 


CHANGES   ON   THE    "SUMMER   SHELTER"        215 

put  on  their  parson's  toggery,  long  coats,  high,  hats, 
and  white  cravats,  and  let  each  man  take  with  him  the 
address  of  his  church  on  a  card.  They  are  to  certify  to 
Mr.  Shirley.  Tell  them  to  step  round  lively  —  we  have 
no  time  to  lose !  " 

Soon  after  the  boat  with  Shirley  and  the  clergymen 
had  pulled  away  from  the  yacht,  two  of  the  clerical  crew 
came  to  Mrs.  Cliff,  and  told  her  that  they  were  very 
sorry  indeed  to  say,  that  having  consulted  the  sailing- 
master,  and  having  been  told  by  him  that  it  was  not  at 
all  probable  that  the  yacht  would  be  able  to  return  to 
Kingston  in  a  week,  they  had  been  forced  to  the  con 
clusion  that  they  would  not  be  able  to  offer  her  their 
services  during  the  voyage  she  was  about  to  make. 
Important  affairs  at  home  would  make  it  impossible 
for  them  to  prolong  their  most  delightful  vacation,  and 
as  they  had  been  informed  that  the  Antonina  would 
return  to  New  York  in  a  few  days,  it  would  be  advis 
able  for  them  to  leave  the  yacht  and  take  passage  to 
New  York  in  her.  They  felt,  however,  that  this  appar 
ent  desertion  would  be  of  less  importance  than  it  would 
have  been  if  it  had  occurred  in  the  port  of  Nassau, 
because  now  the  crew  would  have  the  assistance  of  Mr. 
Shirley,  who  was  certainly  worth  more  than  both  of 
them  together. 

When  Burke  heard  this,  he  said  to  Mrs.  Cliff  that  he 
was  not  sure  but  what  the  parsons  were  quite  correct, 
and  although  everybody  was  sorry  to  lose  two  members 
of  the  party,  it  could  not  be  helped,  and  all  who  had 
letters  to  send  to  New  York  went  to  work  to  scribble 


216  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

them  as  fast  as  they  could.  Mrs.  Cliff  also  wrote  a  note 
to  Captain  Horn,  informing  him  of  the  state  of  affairs, 
and  of  their  reasons  for  not  waiting  for  him,  and  this  the 
departing  clergymen  undertook  to  leave  with  Beaver  & 
Hughes,  where  Captain  Horn  would  be  sure  to  call. 

When  Shirley  reached  the  counting-house  of  Beaver 
&  Hughes,  he  found  that  it  was  a  great  advantage  to  be 
backed  up  by  a  pair  of  reverend  clergymen,  who  had 
come  to  Kingston  in  a  handsome  yacht.  The  message 
for  Captain  Hagar  was  delivered  without  hesitation,  and 
the  best  wishes  were  expressed  that  they  might  be  able 
to  overtake  the  Dunkery  Beacon. 

"Her  course  will  be  south  of  Tobago  Island,"  said  Mr. 
Beaver,  "  and  then  if  your  yacht  is  the  vessel  you  say  it 
is,  I  should  say  you  ought  to  overtake  her  before  she 
gets  very  far  down  the  coast.  I  don't  know  that  Cap 
tain  Hagar  will  turn  back  when  he  gets  this  message, 
having  gone  so  far,  but,  of  course,  if  it  is  important,  I 
am  glad  there  is  a  vessel  here  to  take  it  to  him." 

"What  sort  of  a  looking  vessel  is  the  DunJcery  Bea 
con?"  asked  Shirley. 

"She  is  about  two  thousand  tons,"  said  the  other, 
"  has  two  masts  which  do  not  rake  much,  and  her  fun 
nel  is  painted  black  and  white,  the  stripes  running  up 
and  down.  There  are  three  steamers  on  the  line,  and 
all  their  funnels  are  painted  that  way." 

"We'll  be  apt  to  know  her  when  we  see  her,"  said 
Shirley,  and  with  a  hurried  leave,  he  and  his  compan 
ions  hastened  back  to  the  wharves. 

But  on  the  way  a  thought  struck  Shirley,   and  he 


CHANGES  ON   THE   "SUMMER   SHELTER"        217 

determined  to  take  time  to  go  to  the  post-office. 
There  might  be  something  for  him,  and  he  had  not 
thought  of  it  before.  There  he  found  a  telegraphic 
message  addressed  to  him  and  sent  from  Vera  Cruz  to 
New  York,  and  thence  forwarded  by  mail.  It  was  from 
Captain  Horn,  and  was  as  long  as  an  ordinary  business 
note,  and  informed  Shirley  that  the  Captain  expected  to 
be  in  Jamaica  not  long  after  this  message  reached 
Kingston.  There  was  no  regular  steamer  which  would 
reach  there  in  good  time,  but  he  had  chartered  a 
steamer,  the  Monterey,  which  was  then  being  made 
ready  for  sea  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  would  prob 
ably  clear  for  Kingston  in  a  few  days.  It  urged 
Shirley  not  to  fail  to  keep  the  Durikery  Beacon  in  port 
until  he  arrived. 

Shirley  stood  speechless  for  some  minutes  after  he  had 
read  this  message.  This  telegram  had  come  with  him 
on  the  Antonina  from  New  York !  What  a  fool  he  had 
been  not  to  think  sooner  of  the  post-office  —  but  what 
difference  would  it  have  made?  What  could  he  have 
done  that  he  had  not  done?  If  the  Captain  sailed  in  a 
few  days  from  the  time  he  sent  the  message,  he  would 
be  here  very  soon,  for  the  distance  between  Kingston 
and  Vera  Cruz  was  less  than  that  from  New  York.  The 
Captain  must  have  counted  on  Shirley  reaching  Jamaica 
very  much  sooner  than  he  really  did  arrive.  Puzzled, 
annoyed,  and  disgusted  with  himself,  Shirley  explained 
the  message  to  his  companions,  and  they  all  hastened 
back  to  the  yacht.  There  a  brief  but  very  hurried  con 
sultation  was  held,  in  which  nearly  everybody  joined. 


218  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

The  question  to  be  decided  was,  should  they  wait  for 
Captain  Horn? 

A  great  deal  was  said  in  a  very  short  time,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  confused  opinions,  Mrs.  Cliff  spoke  out, 
loudly  and  clearly.  "It  is  ray  opinion,"  said  she,  "that 
we  should  not  stop.  If  fitting  out  a  steamer  is  like  fit 
ting  out  anything  else  in  this  world  that  I  know  of,  it  is 
almost  certain  to  take  more  time  than  people  expect  it 
to  take.  If  Captain  Horn  telegraphed  to  us  this  minute, 
I  believe  he  would  tell  us  to  go  after  that  ship  with  the 
gold  on  board,  just  as  fast  as  we  can,  and  tell  them  to 
turn  back." 

This  speech  was  received  with  favor  by  all  who  heard 
it,  and  without  a  word  in  answer  to  Mrs.  Cliff,  Captain 
Burke  told  Mr.  Burdette  that  they  would  clear  for  a 
cruise  and  get  away  just  as  soon  as  they  could  do  it. 

When  the  yacht  had  been  made  ready  to  start,  the 
two  clergymen  descended  into  the  boat,  which  was 
waiting  alongside,  and  the  Summer  Shelter  steamed  out 
of  the  harbor  of  Kingston,  and  headed  away  for  Tobago 
Island. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

» 

A    NOTE    FOB   CAPTAIN    BURKE 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  fact  that  the  Summer  Shelter 
made  very  good  time,  that  she  had  coaled  at  Nassau, 
and  was  therefore  ready  for  an  extended  cruise,  it  was 
impossible  for  any  of  those  on  board  of  her  to  conceal 


A   NOTE   FOB   CAPTAIN   BURKE  2 19 

from  themselves  the  very  strong  improbability  of  sight 
ing  the  Dunkery  Beacon  after  she  had  got  out  upon  the 
wide  Atlantic,  and  that  she  would  pass  the  comparatively 
narrow  channel  south  of  Tobago  Island  before  the  yacht 
reached  it,  was  almost  a  foregone  conclusion. 

Mr.  Burke  assured  Mrs.  Cliff  and  his  passengers  that 
although  their  chase  after  the  steamer  might  reasonably 
suggest  a  needle  and  a  haystack,  still,  if  the  Dunkery 
Beacon  kept  down  the  coast  in  as  straight  a  line  as 
she  could  for  Cape  St.  Eoque,  and  if  the  Summer  Shel 
ter  also  kept  the  same  line,  and  if  the  yacht  steamed  a 
great  deal  faster  than  the  other  vessel,  it  stood  to  rea 
son  that  it  could  not  be  very  long  before  the  Summer 
Shelter  overhauled  the  Dunkery  Beacon. 

But  those  who  consulted  with  Mr.  Portman  were  not 
so  well  encouraged  as  those  who  pinned  their  faith  upon 
the  Captain.  The  sailing-master  had  very  strong  doubts 
about  ever  sighting  the  steamer  that  had  sailed  away 
two  days  before  they  left  Kingston.  The  ocean  being 
so  very  large,  and  any  steamer  being  so  very  small 
comparatively,  if  they  did  not  pass  her  miles  out  of 
sight,  and  if  they  never  caught  up  to  her,  he  would  not 
be  in  the  least  surprised. 

Four  days  had  passed  since  they  left  Kingston,  when 
Burke  and  Shirley  stood  together  upon  the  deck,  scan 
ning  the  horizon  with  a  glass.  "Don't  you  think  it 
begins  to  look  like  a  wild  goose  chase  ? "  said  the 
latter. 

Burke  thrust  his  hands  into  the  pockets  of  his  jacket. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  it  does  look  like  that !    I  did  believe 


220  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

that  we  were  going  to  overhaul  her  before  she  got  out 
side  the  Caribbees,  but  she  must  be  a  faster  vessel  than 
I  thought  she  was." 

"I  don't  believe  she's  fast  at  all,"  said  Shirley. 
"  She's  had  two  days'  start,  and  that's  enough  to  spoil 
our  business,  I'm  afraid!" 

"  But  we'll  keep  on,"  said  Burke.  "  We're  not  going 
to  turn  back  until  our  coal  bunkers  tell  us  we've  got  to 
do  it ! " 

Steamers  they  saw,  sometimes  two  in  an  hour,  —  sail 
ing-vessels  were  sighted,  near  by  or  far  away ;  —  schoon 
ers,  ships,  or  brigs,  and  these  were  steaming  and  sailing 
this  way  and  that,  but  never  did  they  see  a  steamer  with 
a  single  funnel  painted  black  and  white,  with  the  stripes 
running  up  and  down. 

It  was  very  early  next  morning  after  the  conversation 
between  Burke  and  Shirley  that  the  latter  saw  a  long 
line  of  smoke  just  above  the  horizon  which  he  thought 
might  give  him  reason  for  looking  out  for  the  steamer  of 
which  they  were  in  quest ;  but  when  he  got  his  glass,  and 
the  masts  appeared  above  the  horizon,  he  saw  that  this 
vessel  was  heading  eastward,  perhaps  a  little  northeast, 
and  therefore  was  not  likely  to  be  the  Dunkery  Beacon. 
But  in  half  an  hour  his  glass  showed  him  that  there 
were  stripes  on  the  funnel  of  this  steamer  which  ran 
up  and  down,  and  in  a  moment  Burke  was  called,  and 
was  soon  at  his  side. 

"  I  believe  that's  the  Dunkery  ! "  cried  the  Captain, 
with  the  glass  to  his  eye.  "But  she's  on  the  wrong 
course !  It  won't  take  us  long  to  overhaul  her.  We'll 


A   NOTE   FOR   CAPTAIN   BURKE  221 

head  the  yacht  a  few  points  to  the  east.  Don't  say  any 
thing  to  anybody,  —  we  don't  want  to  disappoint  them." 

"Oh,  we  can  overhaul  her,"  said  Shirley,  who  now 
had  the  glass,  "  for  it  isn't  a  stern  chase  by  any  means." 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  everybody  on  board  the 
Summer  Shelter  knew  that  the  large  steamer,  which 
they  could  plainly  see  on  the  rolling  waves  to  the 
south,  must  be  the  Dunkery  Beacon,  unless,  indeed,  they 
should  find  that  this  was  one  of  her  sister  ships  com 
ing  north.  There  was  great  excitement  on  board  the 
yacht.  The  breakfast,  which  was  in  course  of  prepara 
tion,  was  almost  entirely  forgotten  by  those  who  had  it 
in  charge,  and  everybody  who  could  possibly  leave  duty 
crowded  to  the  rail,  peering  across  the  waves  to  the 
southward.  It  was  not  long  before  Shirley,  who  had 
the  best  eyes  on  board,  declared  that  he  could  read 
with  his  glass  the  name  Dunkery  Beacon  on  the  port 
bow. 

"  That's  not  where  we  ought  to  see  it,"  cried  Burke ; 
"  we  ought  to  see  it  on  the  stern !  But  we've  got  her, 
boys !  —  and  then  he  remembered  himself,  and  added, 
—  "ladies;  and  now  let's  give  three  good  cheers!" 

Three  rousing  cheers  were  given  by  all  on  board  with 
such  good-will  that  they  would  have  been  heard  on  the 
other  steamer  had  not  the  wind  been  pretty  strong  from 
the  west. 

The  Summer  Shelter  gained  upon  the  larger  vessel, 
and  Burke  now  ran  up  signals  for  her  to  lay  to,  as  he 
wished  to  speak  with  her.  To  these  signals,  however, 
the  Dunkery  paid  no  immediate  attention,  keeping  stead- 


222  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

ily  on,  although  altering  her  course  towards  the  south 
east. 

"  What  does  that  mean,  Mr.  Shirley  ? "  asked  Mrs. 
Cliff.  "Mr.  Burke  wants  her  to  stop,  doesn't  he?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Shirley,  "  that  is  what  the  signal  is  for." 

"But  she  doesn't  stop!"  said  Mrs.  Cliff.  "Do  you 
think  there  is  any  chance  of  her  not  stopping  at  all  ? " 

"Can't  say,  madam,"  he  answered.  "But  she's  got 
good  reason  for  keeping  on  her  way ;  a  vessel  with  all 
that  treasure  on  board  could  hardly  be  expected  to  lay  to 
because  a  strange  vessel  that  she  knows  nothing  about 
asked  her  to  shut  off  steam." 

"That  seems  to  me  very  reasonable,  indeed,"  said 
Mr.  Litchfield,  who  was  standing  by.  "  But  it  would  be 
very  bad  fortune,  if,  after  all  the  trouble  and  anxiety 
you  have  had  in  overtaking  this  vessel,  she  should 
decline  to  stop  and  hear  the  news  we  have  to  tell." 

There  was  a  strong  breeze  and  a  good  deal  of  sea,  but 
Burke  determined  to  get  near  enough  to  hail  the  Dun- 
kery  Beacon  and  speak  to  her.  So  he  got  round  on  her 
weather  quarter,  and  easily  overtaking  her,  he  brought 
the  Summer  Shelter  as  near  to  the  other  vessel  as  he 
considered  it  safe  to  do.  Then  he  hailed  her,  "  Dunkery 
Beacon,  ahoy  !  Is  that  Captain  Hagar  ?  " 

The  wind  was  too  strong  for  the  Captain  of  the  other 
vessel  to  answer  through  his  trumpet,  but  he  signalled 
assent.  Then  Burke  informed  him  that  he  wished  him 
to  lay  to  in  order  that  he  might  send  a  boat  on  board ; 
that  he  had  very  important  orders  to  Captain  Hagar 
from  his  owners,  and  that  he  had  followed  him  from 


A   NOTE   FOR    CAPTAIN   BURKE  223 

Jamaica  in  order  to  deliver  them.  For  some  time  there 
was  no  answer  whatever  to  these  loudly  bellowed  re 
marks,  and  the  two  vessels  kept  on  side  by  side. 

"  Anyway,"  said  Burke  to  Mr.  Burdette,  "  she  can  see 
that  we're  a  lot  faster  than  she  is,  and  that  she  can't  get 
away  from  us  ! " 

"It  may  be  that  she's  afraid  of  us,"  said  the  mate, 
"and  thinks  we're  one  of  the  pirates." 

"  That  can't  be,"  said  Burke,  "  for  she  doesn't  know 
anything  about  the  pirates  !  I'll  hail  her  again,  and  tell 
her  what  we  are,  and  what  our  business  is.  I  think  it 
won't  be  long  before  she  lays  to  just  to  see  what  we 
want." 

Sure  enough,  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes  the  Durikery 
Beacon  signalled  that  she  would  lay  to,  and  before  long 
the  two  vessels,  their  engines  stopped  and  their  heads  to 
the  wind,  lay  rising  and  falling  on  the  waves,  and  near 
enough  to  speak  to  each  other. 

"  Now,  then,  what  do  you  want  ? "  shouted  the  Cap 
tain  of  the  DunJcery. 

"  I  want  to  send  a  boat  aboard  with  an  important  mes 
sage  from  Blackburn ! " 

After  a  few  minutes  the  answer  came,  "  Send  a  boat ! " 

Orders  were  given  to  lower  one  of  the  yacht's  boats, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  Shirley  ought  to  be  the  man  to  go 
over  to  the  Dunkery  Beacon.  "  Who  do  you  want  to  go 
with  you  ?  "  asked  Burke. 

"  Nobody  but  the  boat's  crew,"  he  answered.  "  I  can 
explain  things  better  by  myself.  Captain  Hagar  seems 
to  be  an  obstinate  fellow,  and  it  won't  be  easy  to  turn 


224  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

him  back  on  his  course.  But  if  I  want  anybody  to  stand 
by  me  and  back  me  up  in  what  I  say,  you  might  let 
some  of  the  clergymen  come  over.  He  might  believe 
them,  and  wouldn't  me.  But  I'll  talk  to  him  first  by 
myself." 

Every  member  of  the  Synod  declared  that  he  was  per 
fectly  willing  to  go  to  the  other  vessel  if  he  should  be 
needed,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  assured  Burke  that  if  she  could 
be  of  any  good  in  making  the  Captain  of  the  Duiikery 
Beacon  understand  that  he  ought  to  turn  back,  she  would 
be  perfectly  willing  to  be  rowed  over  to  his  vessel. 

"  I  don't  think  it  will  be  necessary  to  put  a  lady  into  a 
boat  on  such  a  sea  as  this,"  said  Burke.  "  But  when  he 
hears  what  Shirley  has  to  tell  him,  that  Captain  will 
most  likely  be  glad  enough  to  turn  back." 

Captain  Burke  was  afraid  to  trust  any  of  his  clerical 
crew  to  row  a  ship's  boat  on  such  a  heavy  sea,  and 
although  he  would  be  perfectly  willing  to  go  himself  as 
one  of  the  oarsmen,  he  would  not  leave  the  yacht  so 
long  as  Mrs.  Cliff  was  on  board ;  but  Mr.  Burdette,  the 
sailing-master,  and  the  assistant  engineer  volunteered 
as  crew  of  the  boat,  while  Shirley  himself  pulled  an 
oar. 

When  the  boat  reached  the  Dunkery  Beacon,  Shirley 
was  soon  on  board,  while  the  three  men  in  the  boat, 
holding  to  a  line  which  had  been  thrown  them,  kept 
their  little  craft  from  bumping  against  the  side  of  the 
big  steamer  by  pushing  her  off  with  their  oars.  On  board 
the  Summer  Shelter  everybody  stood  and  gazed  over 
the  rail,  staring  at  the  other  steamer  as  if  they  could 


A  NOTE   FOR   CAPTAIN    BURKE  225 

hear  with  their  eyes  what  was  being  said  on  board  of  her. 
After  waiting  about  twenty  minutes,  a  note  was  passed 
down  to  the  men  in  the  boat,  who  pushed  off  and  rowed 
back  with  it  to  the  Summer  Shelter. 

The  note,  which  Captain  Burke  opened  and  read  as 
soon  as  he  could  lay  hold  of  it.  ran  as  follows  : 

"  To  CAPTAIN  BURKE  OF  THE  '  SUMMER  SHELTER  ' : 

"  It's  my  opinion  that  you're  trying  to  play  a  beastly 
trick  on  me  !  It  isn't  like  my  owners  to  send  a  message 
to  me  off  the  coast  of  South  America.  If  they  wanted 
to  send  me  a  message,  it  would  have  been  waiting  for 
me  at  Kingston.  I  don't  know  what  sort  of  a  trick  you 
are  trying  to  play  on  me,  but  you  can't  do  it.  I  know 
my  duties,  and  I'm  going  to  keep  on  to  my  port.  And 
what's  more,  I'm  not  going  to  send  back  the  man  you 
sent  aboard  of  me.  I'll  take  him  with  me  to  Rio  Janeiro, 
and  hand  him  over  to  the  authorities.  They'll  know 
what  to  do  with  him,  but  I  don't  intend  to  send  him 
back  to  report  to  you  whatever  he  was  sent  aboard  my 
vessel  to  find  out. 

"  I  don't  know  how  you  came  to  think  I  had  treasure 
on  board,  but  it's  none  of  your  business  anyway.  You 
must  think  I'm  a  fool  to  turn  back  to  Kingston  because 
you  tell  me  to.  Anybody  can  write  a  telegram.  So  I'm 
going  to  get  under  way,  and  you  can  steam  back  to 
Kingston,  or  wherever  you  came  from. 

"CAPTAIN  HAGAR." 

Captain    Burke    had    hardly    finished    reading     this 
extraordinary  letter  when  he  heard  a  cry  from  the  boat 
Q 


226  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

lying  by  the  side  of  the  yacht  in  which  the  three  men 
were  waiting,  expecting  to  go  back  to  the  other  vessel 
with  an  answer.  "  Hello ! "  cried  Mr.  Burdette.  "  She's 
getting  under  way !  That  steamer's  off ! " 

And  at  this  a  shout  arose  from  everybody  on  board 
the  Summer  Shelter.  The  propeller  of  the  Dunkery 
Beacon  was  stirring  the  water  at  her  stern,  and  she 
was  moving  away,  her  bow  turned  southward.  Burke 
leaned  over  the  rail,  shouted  to  his  men  to  get  on  board 
and  haul  up  the  boat,  and  then  he  gave  orders  to  go 
ahead  full  speed. 

"What  does  all  this  mean?"  cried  Mrs.  Cliff. 
"  What's  in  that  letter,  Mr.  Burke  ?  Are  they  running 
away  with  Mr.  Shirley  ?  " 

" That's  what  it  looks  like!"  he  cried.  "But  here's 
the  letter.  You  can  all  read  it  for  yourselves!"  and 
with  that  he  dashed  away  to  take  charge  of  his  vessel. 

All  now  was  wild  excitement  on  board  the  Summer 
Shelter,  but  what  was  to  be  done  or  with  what  intention 
they  were  pursuing  the  Dunkery  Beacon  and  rapidly 
gaining  upon  her,  no  one  could  say,  not  even  Captain 
Burke  himself.  The  yacht  was  keeping  on  the  weather 
quarter  of  the  other  vessel,  and  when  she  was  near 
enough,  he  began  again  to  yell  at  her  through  his  speak 
ing-trumpet,  but  no  answer  or  signal  came  back,  and 
everybody  on  board  the  larger  vessel  seemed  to  be 
attending  to  his  duties  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  while 
Mr.  Shirley  was  not  visible. 

While  the  Captain  was  roaring  himself  red  in  the 
face,  both  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy  Croup  were  crying,  and 


A   NOTE   FOR   CAPTAIN   BURKE  227 

the  face  of  each  clergyman  showed  great  anxiety  and 
trouble.  Presently  Mrs.  Cliff  was  approached  by  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Arbuckle,  the  oldest  of  the  members  of 
the  late  Synod  who  had  shipped  with  her. 

"  This  is  a  most  unfortunate  and  totally  unexpected 
outcome  of  our  expedition,"  said  he.  "  If  Mr.  Shirley  is 
taken  to  Bio  Janeiro  and  charges  made  against  him,  his 
case  may  be  very  serious.  But  I  cannot  see  what  we 
are  to  do !  Don't  you  believe  it  would  be  well  to  call  a 
consultation  of  those  on  board  ?  " 

Mrs.  Cliff  wiped  her  eyes,  and  said  they  ought  to 
consult.  If  anything  could  be  done,  it  should  be  done 
immediately. 

Captain  Burke  put  the  yacht  in  charge  of  the  mate, 
and  came  aft  where  five  of  the  clergymen,  the  sailing- 
master,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy  were  gathered  together. 
"I'm  willing  to  hold  council,"  said  he,  "but  at  this 
minute  I  can't  give  any  advice  as  to  what  ought  to  be 
done.  The  only  thing  I  can  say,  is  that  I  don't  want  to 
desert  Shirley.  If  I  could  do  it,  I  would  board  that 
vessel  and  take  him  off,  but  I  don't  see  my  way  clear 
to  that  just  yet.  I'm  not  owner  of  this  yacht,  but  if 
Mrs.  Cliff  will  give  the  word,  I'll  follow  that  steamer  to 
Rio  Janeiro,  and  if  Shirley  is  put  on  shore  and  charges 
made  against  him,  I'll  be  there  to  stand  by  him ! " 

"  Of  course,  we  will  not  desert  Mr.  Shirley,"  cried  Mrs. 
Cliff.  "This  yacht  shall  follow  that  vessel  until  we  can 
take  him  on  board  again.  I  can't  feel  it  in  my  heart, 
gentlemen,  to  say  to  you  that  I'm  willing  to  turn  back 
and  take  you  home  if  you  want  to  go.  It  may  be  very 


228  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

hard  to  keep  you  longer,  but  it  will  be  a  great  deal  harder 
if  we  are  to  let  the  Captain  of  that  ship  take  poor  Mr. 
Shirley  to  Rio  Janeiro  and  put  him  into  prison,  with 
nobody  to  say  a  word  for  him ! " 

"  Madam,"  said  Mr.  Arbuckle,  "  I  beg  that  you  will  not 
speak  of  the  question  of  an  immediate  return  on  our 
account.  This  is  in  every  way  a  most  unfortunate  affair, 
but  we  all  see  what  ought  to  be  done,  what  it  is  our  duty 
to  do,  and  we  will  do  it !  Can  you  give  me  an  idea,  Mr. 
Portman,  of  the  length  of  time  it  would  probably  require 
for  us  to  reach  Rio  Janeiro  ?  " 

"  I  think  this  yacht  could  get  there  in  a  week,"  said 
the  sailing-master;  "but  if  we're  to  keep  company  with 
that  hulk  over  there,  it  will  take  us  ten  days.  We  may 
have  trouble  about  coal,  but  if  we  have  good  winds  like 
these,  we  can  keep  up  with  the  Dunkery  Beacon  with 
half  steam  and  our  sails." 

"  Mr.  Litchfield,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "  the  Captain  is  up  in 
the  pilot  house.  I  can't  climb  up  there,  but  won't  you  go 
and  tell  him  that  I  say  that  we  must  standby  Mr.  Shirley 
no  matter  what  happens,  nor  where  we  have  to  go  to !  " 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
"WE'LL  STICK  TO  SHIRLEY!" 

WHEN  night  began  to  fall,  the  Dunkery  Beacon  was 
still  keeping  on  her  course, — a  little  too  much  to  the 
eastward,  Mr.  Portman  thought,  —  and  the  Summer  Shel 
ter  was  still  accompanying  her  almost  abreast,  and  less 


"WE'LL  STICK  TO  SHIRLEY  !"  229 

than  half  a  mile  away.  During  the  day  it  had  been  sel 
dom  that  the  glasses  of  the  yacht  had  not  been  directed 
upon  the  deck  of  the  larger  vessel.  Several  times  Mr. 
Shirley  had  been  seen  on  the  main  deck,  and  he  had  fre 
quently  waved  his  hat.  It  was  encouraging  to  know  that 
their  friend  was  in  good  condition,  but  there  were  many 
hearts  on  board  the  Summer  Shelter  which  grew  heavier 
and  heavier  as  the  night  came  on. 

Burke  and  Burdette  stood  together  in  the  pilot  house. 
"  Suppose  she  gets  away  from  us  in  the  night?  "  said  the 
mate. 

"  I  don't  intend  to  let  her  do  it,"  replied  his  Captain. 
"  Even  if  she  douses  every  glim  on  board,  I'll  keep  her 
in  sight !  It  will  be  starlight,  and  I'm  not  afraid,  with  a 
vessel  as  easily  managed  as  this  yacht,  to  lie  pretty  close 
to  her." 

"  Then  there's  another  thing,"  said  Burdette. 

"  You're  thinking  they  may  get  rid  of  him  ?  "  asked 
Burke. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  other,  "  I  was  thinking  of  that ! " 

The  Captain  did  not  reply  immediately.  "  That  came 
across  my  mind  too,"  said  he,  "  but  it's  all  nonsense  !  In 
the  first  place,  they  haven't  got  any  reason  for  wanting 
to  get  rid  of  him  that  way,  and  besides,  they  know  that  if 
they  went  into  Rio  Janeiro  without  Shirley,  we  could 
make  it  very  hot  for  them !  " 

"  But  he's  a  queer  one  —  that  Captain  Hagar !  "  said 
Burdette.  "  What  was  he  doing  on  that  easterly  course  ? 
I  think  he's  a  scaly  customer,  that's  what  I  think  ! " 

"  Can't  say  anything  about  that,"  answered    Burke. 


230  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

"But  one  thing  I  know,  —  I'm  going  to  stick  to  him 
like  a  thrasher  to  a  whale!" 

Very  early  the  next  morning  Mr.  Hodgson  came  aft 
where  Captain  Burke  was  standing  with  the  sailing- 
master.  "  Sir,"  said  he,  "  I  am  a  clergyman  and  a  man 
of  peace,  but  I  declare,  sir,  that  I  do  not  think  any  one, 
no  matter  what  his  profession,  should  feel  himself  called 
upon  to  submit  to  the  outrageous  conduct  of  the  Captain 
of  that  vessel !  Is  there  no  way  in  which  we  could 
approach  her  and  make  fast  to  her,  and  then  boldly 
press  our  way  on  board  in  spite  of  objection  or  resistance, 
and  by  force,  if  it  should  be  necessary,  bring  away  Mr. 
Shirley,  whose  misfortune  has  made  us  all  feel  as  if  he 
were  not  only  our  friend,  but  our  brother.  Then,  sir,  I 
should  let  that  vessel  go  on  to  destruction,  if  she  chooses 
to  go." 

Burke  shook  his  head.  "  You  may  be  sure  if  I  con 
sidered  it  safe  to  run  the  two  vessels  together  I  would 
have  been  on  board  that  craft  long  ago!  But  we 
couldn't  do  it,  —  certainly  not  with  Mrs.  Cliff  on  the 
yacht ! " 

"  No  indeed ! "  added  Mr.  Portman.  "  Nobody  knows 
what  damage  they  might  do  us.  For  my  part,  I  haven't 
any  faith  in  that  vessel.  I  believe  she's  no  better  than  a 
pirate  herself ! " 

"  Hold  on ! "  exclaimed  Burke.  "  Don't  talk  like  that ! 
It  wouldn't  do  for  the  women  to  get  any  such  notions 
into  their  heads ! " 

"  But  it  is  in  your  head,  isn't  it,  sir  ? "  said  Mr. 
Hodgson. 


"  WE'LL  STICK  TO  SHIRLEY  !  "  231 

"  Yes,"  said  Burke,  "  something  of  the  sort.  I  don't 
mind  saying  that  to  you." 

"  And  I  will  also  say  to  you,"  replied  the  young 
clergyman,  "  that  we  talked  it  over  last  night,  and  we  all 
agreed  that  the  actions  of  the  Dunkery  Beacon  are  very 
suspicious.  It  does  not  seem  at  all  unlikely  that  the 
great  treasure  she  carries  has  been  too  much  of  a  tempta 
tion  for  the  Captain,  and  that  she  is  trying  to  get  away 
with  it." 

"  Of  course,  I  don't  know  anything  about  that  Cap 
tain,"  said  Burke,  "or  what  he  is  after,  but  I'm  pretty 
sure  that  he  won't  dare  to  do  anything  to  Shirley  as  long 
as  I  keep  him  in  sight.  And  now  I'm  going  to  bear 
down  on  him  again  to  hail  him  !  " 

The  Slimmer  Shelter  bore  down  upon  the  other  steamer, 
and  her  Captain  hailed  and  hailed  for  half  an  hour,  but 
no  answer  came  from  the  Dunkery  Beacon. 

Willy  Croup  was  so  troubled  by  what  had  happened, 
and  even  more  by  what  was  not  happening,  —  for  she 
could  not  see  any  good  which  might  come  out  of.  this 
persistent  following  of  the  one  vessel  by  the  other,  — 
that  her  nerves  disordered  and  tangled  themselves  to 
such  a  degree  that  she.  was  scarcely  able  to  cook. 

But  Mrs.  Cliff  kept  up  a  strong  heart.  She  felt  that 
a  great  deal  depended  upon  her.  At  any  moment  an 
emergency  might  arise  when  she  would  be  called  upon, 
as  owner  of  the  yacht,  to  decide  what  should  be  done. 
She  hoped  very  earnestly  that  if  the  Captain  of  the 
Dunkery  Beacon  saw  that  the  Summer  Shelter  was  deter 
mined  to  follow  him  wherever  he  went,  and  whatever  he 


232  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

might  do,  he  would  at  last  get  tired  of  being  nagged  in 
that  way,  and  consent  to  give  up  Mr.  Shirley. 

About  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  all  belief  in  the 
minds  of  the  men  on  board  the  yacht  that  the  Dunkery 
Beacon  intended  to  sail  to  Rio  Janeiro  entirely  disap 
peared,  for  that  steamer  changed  her  course  to  one 
considerably  north  of  east.  A  little  after  that  a  steamer 
was  seen  on  the  horizon  to  the  north,  and  she  was  bear 
ing  southward.  In  the  course  of  half  an  hour  it  seemed 
as  if  this  new  steamer  was  not  only  likely  to  run  across 
the  course  of  the  Dunkery  Beacon,  but  was  trying  to 
do  it. 

"Captain,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Cliff,  grasping  Burke  by 
the  arm,  "  don't  you  think  it  looks  very  much  as  if  that 
Captain  Hagar  was  trying  to  run  away  with  the  treasure 
which  has  been  entrusted  to  him  ?  " 

"  I  didn't  intend  to  say  anything  to  you  about  that," 
he  replied,  "but  it  looks  like  it  most  decidedly ! " 

"  If  that  should  be  the  case,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  « don't 
you  think  Mr.  Shirley's  situation  is  very  dangerous  ?  " 

"Nobody  knows  anything  about  that,  madam,"  said 
he,  "  but  until  we  get  him  back  on  this  yacht,  I'll  stick 
to  her ! " 

Burke  could  not  make  out  the  new-comer  very  well, 
but  he  knew  her  to  be  a  Mediterranean  steamer.  She 
was  of  moderate  size,  and  making  good  headway.  "I 
haven't  the  least  bit  of  a  doubt,"  said  lie  to  Burdette, 
"  that  that's  the  pirate  vessel  from  Genoa ! " 

"  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  you're  right ! "  said  the  mate, 
taking  the  glass.  "  I  think  I  can  see  a  lot  of  heads  in 


"  WE'LL  STICK  TO  SHIKLEY  !  "  233 

her  bow,  and  now  I  wonder  what  is  going  to  happen 
next ! " 

"  That  nobody  knows,"  said  Burke,  "  but  if  I  had  Shir 
ley  on  board  here,  I'd  steam  away  and  let  them  have  it 
out.  We  have  done  all  we're  called  upon  to  do  to  keep 
those  Peruvian  fools  from  losing  that  cargo  of  gold  ! " 

The  strange  vessel  drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
Dunkery  Beacon,  and  the  two  steamers,  much  to  the 
amazement  of  the  watchers  on  the  yacht,  now  lay  to  and 
seemed  prepared  to  hail  each  other.  They  did  hail,  and 
after  a  short  time  a  boat  was  lowered  from  the  stranger, 
and  pulled  to  the  Dunkery  Beacon.  There  were  but 
few  men  in  the  boat,  although  there  were  many  heads  on 
the  decks  from  which  they  had  come. 

"  This  beats  me ! "  ejaculated  Burke.  "  They  seem 
willing  enough  to  lay  to  for  her !  " 

"  It  looks  to  me,"  said  Mr.  Burdette,  "  as  if  she  wanted 
to  be  captured ! " 

"I'd  like  to  know,"  said  the  Captain,  "what's  the 
meaning  of  that  queer  bit  of  blotched  bunting  that's  been 
run  up  on  the  Dunkery  ?  " 

"  Can't  tell,"  said  the  other,  "  but  there's  another  one 
like  it  on  the  other  steamer ! " 

"  My  friends,"  said  Mr.  Arbuckle,  standing  in  a  group 
of  his  fellow-clergymen  on  the  main  deck,  "  it  is  my  ear 
nest  opinion  that  those  two  ships  are  accomplices  in  a 
great  crime." 

"  If  that  be  so,"  said  another,  "  we  are  here  in  the  posi 
tion  of  utterly  helpless  witnesses.  But  we  should  not 
allow  ourselves  to  look  on  this  business  from  one  point 


234  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YAOHT 

of  view  only.  It  may  be  that  the  intentions  of  that  re 
cently  arrived  vessel  are  perfectly  honorable.  She  may 
bring  later  orders  from  the  owners  of  the  Dunkery  Bea 
con,  and  bring  them  too  with  more  authority  than  did 
Mr.  Shirley,  who,  after  all,  was  only  a  volunteer ! " 

The  yacht  was  lying  to,  and  at  this  moment  the  look 
out  announced  a  sail  on  the  starboard  quarter.  Glancing 
in  that  direction,  nearly  everybody  could  see  that  another 
steamer,  her  hull  well  up  in  view,  was  coming  down  from 
the  north. 

"  By  George ! "  cried  Burke,  "  most  likely  that's  another 
of  the  pirates ! " 

"  And  if  it  is,"  said  his  mate,  "  I  think  we'll  have  to 
trust  to  our  heels ! " 

Burke  answered  quietly,  "Yes,  we'll  do  that  when 
we've  got  Shirley  on  board,  or  when  it's  dead  sure  we 
can't  get  him ! " 

The  people  from  the  Mediterranean  steamer  did  not 
remain  on  board  the  Dunkery  Beacon  more  than  half 
an  hour,  and  when  they  returned  to  their  vessel,  she 
immediately  started  her  engines  and  began  to  move 
away.  Making  a  short  circuit,  she  turned  and  steamed 
in  the  direction  of  the  distant  vessel  approaching  from 
the  northward. 

"  There,"  cried  Burke,  "  that  steamer  off  there  is  an 
other  of  the  pirates,  and  these  scoundrels  here  are  going 
to  meet  her.  They've  got  the  whole  thing  cut  and  dried, 
and  I'll  bet  my  head  that  the  Dunkery  Beacon  will 
cruise  around  here  until  they're  ready  to  come  down  and 
do  what  they  please  with  her ! " 


ON  BOARD  THE  "  DUNKERY  BEACON"    235 

The  actions  of  the  treasure  ship  now  seemed  to  indi 
cate  that  Mr.  Burke  was  correct  in  his  surmises.  She 
steamed  away  slowly  towards  the  south,  and  then  making 
a  wide  sweep,  she  steered  northward,  directing  her  course 
toward  the  yacht  as  if  she  would  speak  with  it. 


CHAPTER   XXVII 

ON    BOARD    THE    "  DUNKERY    BEACON 


WHEN  Edward  Shirley  stepped  on  board  the  big 
steamer  which  he  had  so  earnestly  and  anxiously  fol 
lowed  from  Kingston,  and  was  received  by  her  captain, 
it  did  not  take  him  long  to  form  the  opinion  that  Cap 
tain  Hagar  belonged  to  a  disagreeable  class  of  mariners. 
He  was  gruff,  curt,  and  wanted  to  know  in  the  shortest 
space  of  time  why  in  the  name  of  his  Satanic  Majesty  he 
had  been  asked  to  lay  to,  and  what  message  that  yacht 
had  for  him. 

Shirley  asked  for  a  private  interview,  and  when  they 
were  in  the  Captain's  room  he  put  the  whole  matter  into 
as  few  words  as  possible,  showed  the  cablegram  from 
Blackburn,  and  also  exhibited  his  message  from  Captain 
Horn.  The  other  scrutinized  the  papers  very  carefully, 
asked  many  questions,  but  made  few  remarks  in  regard 
to  his  own  opinion  or  intentions. 

When  he  had  heard  all  that  Shirley  had  to  tell  him, 
and  had  listened  to  some  very  earnest  advice  that  he 
should  immediately  turn  back  to  Kingston,  or  at  least 


236  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

run  into  Georgetown,  where  he  might  safely  lie  in  har 
bor  until  measures  had  been  taken  for  the' safe  convey 
ance  of  the  treasure  to  Peru,  the  Captain  of  the  Dunkerg 
Beacon  arose,  and  asking  Shirley  to  remain  where  he 
was  until  he  should  go  and  consult  with  his  first  mate, 
he  went  out,  closing  the  door  of  the  room  behind  him. 

During  this  absence  he  did  not  see  the  first  mate,  but 
he  went  to  a  room  where  there  was  pen,  ink,  and  paper, 
and  there  he  wrote  a  note  to  Captain  Burke  of  the  Sum 
mer  Shelter,  which  note,  as  soon  as  he  had  signed  it,  he 
gave  to  the  men  in  the  small  boat  waiting  alongside, 
telling  them  that  it  was  from  their  mate  who  had  come 
on  board,  and  that  he  wanted  an  answer  just  as  soon 
as  possible. 

Mr.  Burdette,  Mr.  Portman,  and  the  assistant  engineer 
having  no  reason  whatever  to  suspect  treachery  under 
circumstances  like  these,  immediately  rowed  back  to  the 
Summer  Shelter.  And,  as  we  already  know,  it  was  not 
long  before  the  Dunkery  Beacon  was  steaming  away  from 
the  yacht. 

The  moment  that  Shirley,  who  was  getting  a  little 
tired  of  waiting,  felt  the  movement  of  the  engines,  he 
sprang  to  the  door,  but  found  it  locked.  Now  he  began 
to  kick,  but  in  a  very  few  moments  the  Captain  appeared. 

"  You  needn't  make  a  row,"  said  he.  "  Nobody's  going 
to  hurt  you.  I  have  sent  a  note  to  your  skipper,  telling 
him  I'm  going  to  keep  you  on  board  a  little  while  until 
I  can  consider  this  matter.  My  duty  to  my  owners 
wouldn't  allow  me  to  be  a-layin'  to  here  —  but  I'll  think 
over  the  business  and  do  what  I  consider  right.  But 


ON   BOARD   THE    "DUNKERY   BEACON"          237 

I've  got  to  keep  on  my  course  —  I've  got  no  right  to 
lose  time  whether  this  is  all  a  piece  of  foolin'  or  not." 

"There's  no  fooling  about  it,"  said  Shirley,  warmly. 
"  If  you  don't  turn  back  you  will  be  very  likely  to  lose 
a  good  deal  more  than  time.  You  may  lose  everything 
on  board,  and  your  lives  too,  for  all  you  know." 

The  Captain  laughed.  "  Pirates !  "  said  he.  "  What 
stuff!  There  are  no  pirates  in  these  days!"  and  then 
he  laughed  again.  "Well,  I  can't  talk  any  more  now," 
said  he,  "but  I'll  keep  your  business  in  my  mind,  and 
settle  it  pretty  soon.  Then  you  can  go  back  and  tell 
your  people  what  I'll  do.  You  had  better  go  on  deck 
and  make  yourself  comfortable.  If  you'll  take  my 
advice,  you  won't  do  any  talking.  The  people  on  this 
vessel  don't  know  what  she  carries,  and  I  don't  want 
them  to  know!  So  if  I  see  you  talking  to  anybody,  I'll 
consider  that  you  want  to  make  trouble  —  and  I  can  tell 
you,  if  some  of  these  people  on  board  knew  what  was  in 
them  boxes  in  the  hold,  there  would  be  the  worst  kind 
of  trouble.  You  can  bet  your  head  on  that!  So  you 
can  go  on  and  show  yourself.  Your  friends  won't  be 
worried  about  you  —  I've  explained  it  all  to  them  in  my 
note!" 

When  Shirley  went  on  deck  he  was  very  much  pleased 
to  see  that  the  Summer  Shelter  was  not  far  away,  and 
was  steaming  close  after  the  larger  vessel.  He  waved 
his  hat,  and  then  he  turned  to  look  about  him.  There 
seemed  to  be  a  good  many  men  on  the  steamer,  a  very 
large  crew,  in  fact  ;  and  after  noticing  the  number  of 
sailors  who  were  at  work  not  far  away  from  him,  Shir- 


238  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

ley  caine  to  the  conclusion  that  there  were  more  reasons 
than  one  why  he  would  not  hold  conversation  with 
them. 

From  their  speech  he  thought  that  they  must  all  be 
foreigners  —  French,  or  Italians,  he  could  scarcely  tell 
which.  It  did  not  seem  to  him  that  these  belonged  to 
the  class  of  seamen  which  a  careful  captain  of  a  British 
merchantman  would  wish  to  ship  when  carrying  a  cargo 
of  treasure  to  a  distant  land,  but  then  all  sorts  of  crews 
were  picked  up  in  English  ports.  Her  Captain,  in  fact, 
surprised  Shirley  more  than  did  the  seamen  he  had 
noticed.  This  Captain  must,  of  course,  be  an  English 
man,  for  the  house  of  Blackburn  Brothers  would  not  be 
likely  to  trust  one  of  their  vessels,  and  such  an  impor 
tant  one,  to  the  charge  of  any  one  but  an  Englishman. 
But  he  had  a  somewhat  foreign  look  about  him.  His 
eyes  and  hair  were  very  black,  and  there  was  a  certain 
peculiarity  in  his  pronunciation  that  made  Shirley  think 
at  first  that  he  might  be  a  Welshman. 

While  Shirley  was  considering  these  matters,  the 
Summer  Shelter  was  rapidly  gaining  on  the  other  steamer 
and  was  now  alongside  and  within  hailing  distance,  and 
Burke  was  on  the  bridge  with  a  trumpet  in  his  hand. 
At  this  moment  Shirley  was  accosted  by  the  Captain. 
"I've  got  something  to  say  to  you,"  said  he;  "step  in 
my  room.  Perhaps  we  can  give  your  friend  an  answer 
at  once." 

Shirley  followed  the  other,  the  door  was  shut,  and  the 
Captain  of  the  Dunkery  Beacon  began  to  tell  how  ex 
tremely  injudicious  it  would  be,  in  his  opinion,  to  turn 


WHEN     SHIRLEY     WENT     ON     DECK    HE    WAS   MUCH     PLEASED 
TO    SEE    THE    SUMMER    SHELTER 


ON   BOARD   THE   " DUNKEBY   BEACON"          239 

back,  for  if  pirates  really  were  following  him,  —  although 
he  did  not  believe  a  word  of  it,  —  he  might  run  right  into 
their  teeth,  whereas,  by  keeping  on  his  course,  he  would 
most  likely  sail  away  from  them,  and  when  he  reached 
Rio  Janeiro,  he  could  make  arrangements  there  for  some 
sort  of  a  convoy,  or  whatever  else  was  considered 
necessary. 

"I'll  go  and  hail  my  skipper,"  said  Shirley,  "if  you'll 
let  me  have  a  speaking-trumpet." 

"  No, "  said  the  other,  "  I  don't  want  you  to  do  that. 
I  don't  mind  tellin'  you  that  I  don't  trust  you.  I've 
got  very  heavy  responsibility  on  me,  and  I  don't  know 
who  you  are  no  more  than  if  you  was  a  porpoise  come 
a-bouncin'  up  out  of  the  sea.  I  don't  want  you  and  your 
skipper  holdin'  no  conversation  with  each  other  until 
I've  got  this  matter  settled  to  my  satisfaction,  and  then 
I  can  put  you  on  board  your  vessel,  and  go  ahead  on  my 
course,  or  I  can  turn  back,  just  whichever  I  make  up  my 
mind  to  do.  But  until  I  make  up  my  mind,  I  don't  want 
no  reports  made  from  this  vessel  to  any  other,  and  no 
matter  what  you  say  when  you  are  hailin',  how  do  I 
know  what  you  mean,  and  what  sort  of  signals  you've 
agreed  on  between  you?" 

Shirley  was  obliged  to  accept  the  situation,  and  when 
Burke  had  ceased  to  hail,  he  was  allowed  to  go  011  deck. 
Then,  after  waving  his  hat  to  the  yacht, —  which  was 
now  at  a  considerable  distance,  although  within  easy 
range  of  a  glass, —  Shirley  lighted  his  pipe,  and  walked 
up  and  down  the  deck.  He  saw  a  good  many  things  to 
interest  him ;  but  he  spoke  to  no  one,  and  endeavored  to 


240  MUS.  CLIFF'S  YA<  m 

assume  the  demeanor  of  one  who  was  much  interested 
in  his  own  affairs,  and  very  little  in 'what  was  going  on 
about  him. 

But  Shirley  noticed  a  great  many  things  which  made 
a  deep  impression  upon  him.  The  crew  seemed  to  be 
composed  of  men  not  very  well  disciplined,  but  exceed 
ingly  talkative,  and  although  Shirley  did  not  understand 
French,  he  was  now  pretty  sure  that  all  the  conversa 
tion  he  heard  was  in  that  tongue.  Then,  again,  the  men 
did  not  appear  to  be  very  well  acquainted  with  the  ves 
sel —  they  frequently  seemed  to  be  looking  for  things, 
the  position  of  which  they  should  have  known.  He 
could  not  understand  how  men  who  had  sailed  on  a  ves 
sel  from  Southampton  should  show  such  a  spirit  of 
inquiry  in  regard  to  the  internal  arrangements  of  the 
steamer.  A  boatswain,  who  was  giving  the  orders  to  a 
number  of  men,  seemed  more  as  if  he  were  instructing  a 
class  in  the  nautical  management  of  a  vessel  than  in 
giving  the  ordinary  everyday  orders  which  might  be 
expected  on  such  a  voyage  as  this.  Once  he  saw  the 
Captain  come  on  deck  with  a  book  in  his  hand,  appar 
ently  a  log-book,  and  he  showed  it  to  one  of  the  mates. 
These  two  stood  turning  over  the  leaves  of  the  book  M 
if  they  had  never  seen  it  before,  and  wanted  to  find 
something  which  they  supposed  to  be  in  it. 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  Shirley  said  to  himself 
that  he  could  not  understand  how  such  a  vessel,  with 
such  a  cargo,  could  have  been  sent  out  from  Southamp 
ton  in  charge  of  such  a  captain  and  such  a  crew  as  this. 
And  then,  almost  immediately,  the  idea  came  to  him  in 


ON    BOARD   THE   "DUNKEKY   BEACON"          241 

a  flash  that  perhaps  this  was  not  the  crew  with  which 
the  Dunkery  Beacon  had  sailed!  Now  he  seemed  to  see 
the  whole  state  of  affairs  as  if  it  had  been  printed  on 
paper.  The  Dunkery  Beacon  had  been  captured  by  one 
of  the  pirates,  probably  not  long  after  she  got  outside 
the  Garibbees,  and  that  instead  of  trying  to  take  the 
treasure  on  board  their  own  vessel,  the  scoundrels  had 
rid  the  Dunkery  of  her  captain  and  crew,  and  had  taken 
possession  of  the  steamer  and  everything  in  it.  This 
would  explain  her  course  when  she  was  first  sighted 
from  the  yacht.  She  was  not  going  at  all  to  Kio 
Janeiro  —  she  was  on  her  way  across  the  Atlantic. 

Now  everything  that  he  had  seen,  and  everything 
that  he  had  heard,  confirmed  this  new  belief.  Of  course 
the  pirate  Captain  did  not  wish  to  lay  to  when  he  was 
first  hailed,  and  he  probably  did  so  at  last  simply 
because  he  found  he  need  not  be  afraid  of  the  yacht, 
and  that  he  could  not  rid  himself  of  her  unless  he 
stopped  to  see  what  she  wanted.  Of  course  this  fellow 
would  not  have  him  go  back  to  the  yacht  and  make  a 
report.  Of  course  this  crew  did  not  understand  how 
things  were  placed  and  stored  on  board  the  vessel,  for 
they  themselves  had  been  on  board  of  her  but  a  very 
short  time.  The  Captain  spoke  English,  but  he  was  not 
an  Englishman. 

Shirley  saw  plainer  and  plainer  every  second  that  the 
Dunkery  Beacon  had  been  captured  by  pirates;  that 
probably  not  a  man  of  her  former  crew  was  on  board, 
and  that  he  was  here  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  these 
wretches  —  cut-throats  for  all  he  knew,  and  yet  he  did 


242  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

not  reproach  himself  for  having  run  into  such  a  trap. 
He  had  done  the  proper  thing,  in  a  proper,  orderly,  and 
seamanlike  way.  He  had  had  the  most  unexpected  bad 
luck,  but  he  did  not  in  the  least  see  any  reason  to  blame 
himself. 

He  saw,  however,  a  great  deal  of  reason  to  fear  for 
himself,  especially  as  the  evening  drew  on.  That 
black-headed  villain  of  a  Captain  did  not  want  him 
on  board,  and  while  he  might  not  care  to  toss  him  into 
the  sea  in  view  of  a  vessel  which  was  fast  enough  to 
follow  him  wherever  he  might  go,  there  was  no  reason 
why  he  should  not  do  what  he  pleased,  if,  under  cover 
of  the  night,  he  got  away  from  that  vessel. 

The  fact  that  he  was  allowed  to  go  where  he  pleased, 
and  see  what  he  pleased,  gave  much  uneasiness  to  Shir 
ley.  It  looked  to  him  as  if  they  did  not  care  what  he 
might  say,  hear,  or  see,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  not 
intended  that  he  should  have  an  opportunity  of  making 
reports  of  any  sort.  Shirley  had  his  supper  to  himself, 
and  the  Captain  showed  him  a  bunk.  "They  can't  do 
much  talkin'  to  you,"  he  said.  "I  had  to  sail  ahead 
of  time,  and  couldn't  ship  many  Englishmen." 

"You  liar,"  thought  Shirley,  "you  didn't  ship  any!  " 

Shirley  was  a  brave  man,  but  as  he  lay  awake  in  his 
bunk  that  night,  cold  shivers  ran  down  his  back  many 
times.  If  violence  were  offered  to  him,  of  course  he  could 
not  make  any  defence,  but  he  was  resolved  that  if  an 
attack  should  be  made  upon  him,  there  was  one  thing 
he  would  try  to  do.  He  had  carefully  noted  the  location 
of  the  companion-ways,  and  he  had  taken  off  only  such 


ON   BOARD   THE   "  DUNKERY   BEACON"         243 

clothes  as  would  interfere  with  swimming.  If  lie  were 
attacked,  he  would  make  a  bolt  for  the  upper  deck,  and 
then  overboard.  If  the  yacht  should  be  near  enough  to 
hear  or  see  him,  he  might  have  a  chance.  If  not,  he 
would  prefer  the  ocean  to  the  Durikery  Beacon  and  her 
crew. 

But  the  night  passed  on,  and  he  was  not  molested. 
He  did  not  know,  down  there  below  decks,  that  all 
night  the  Summer  Shelter  kept  so  close  to  the  Dunkery 
Beacon  that  the  people  in  charge  of  the  latter  cursed 
and  swore  dreadfully  at  times  when  the  yacht,  looking 
bigger  and  blacker  by  night  than  she  did  by  day,  rose 
on  the  waves  in  their  wake,  so  near  that  it  seemed  as  if 
a  sudden  squall  might  drive  the  two  vessels  together. 

But  there  was  really  no  reason  for  any  such  fear. 
Burke  had  vowed  he  would  stick  to  Shirley,  and  he  also 
stuck  to  the  wheel  all  night,  with  Burdette  or  the  sail 
ing-master  by  his  side.  And  there  was  not  an  hour 
when  somebody,  either  a  mariner  or  a  clergyman,  did 
not  scan  the  deck  of  the  Dunkery  Beacon  with  a  marine 
glass. 

Shirley  was  not  allowed  to  go  on  deck  until  quite 
late  the  next  morning,  after  Burke  had  given  up  his 
desperate  attempt  to  communicate  with  the  Dunkery 
Beacon;  and  when  he  did  come  up,  and  had  assured 
himself  at  a  glance  that  the  Summer  Shelter  still  hung 
upon  the  heels  of  the  larger  steamer,  and  had  frantically 
waved  his  hat,  the  next  thing  he  saw  was  the  small 
Mediterranean  steamer  which  was  rapidly  coming  down 
from  the  north,  while  the  Dunkery  Beacon  was  steaming 


244  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

northeast.  He  also  noticed  that  some  men  near  him 
were  running  up  a  queer  little  flag  or  signal,  colored 
irregularly  red  and  yellow,  and  then  he  saw  upon  the 
approaching  steamer  a  bit  of  bunting  which  seemed  to 
resemble  the  one  now  floating  from  the  Dunkery.  Of 
course,  under  the  circumstances,  there  was  nothing  for 
him  to  believe  but  that  this  approaching  vessel  was  one 
of  the  pirate  ships,  and  that  she  was  coming  down  not 
to  capture  the  Dunkery  Beacon,  but  to  join  her. 

Now  matters  were  getting  to  be  worse  and  worse,  and 
as  Shirley  glanced  over  at  the  yacht, —  still  hovering  on 
the  weather  quarter  of  the  Dunkery,  ready  at  any  time 
to  swoop  down  and  hail  her  if  there  should  be  occasion, 
—  he  trembled  for  the  fate  of  his  friends.  To  be  sure 
these  two  pirate  vessels  —  for  surely  the  Dunkery  Beacon 
now  belonged  to  that  class  —  were  nothing  but  mer 
chantmen.  There  were  no  cannon  on  this  steamer,  and 
as  the  other  was  now  near  enough  for  him  to  see  her 
decks  as  she  rolled  to  windward,  there  was  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  she  carried  guns.  If  these  rascals  wished 
to  attack  or  capture  a  vessel,  they  must  board  her,  but 
before  they  could  do  that  they  must  catch  her,  and  he 
knew  well  enough  that  there  were  few  ordinary  steamers 
which  could  overhaul  the  Summer  Shelter.  If  it  were 
not  for  his  own  most  unfortunate  position,  the  yacht 
could  steam  away  in  safety  and  leave  these  wretches  to 
their  own  devices,  but  he  did  not  believe  that  his  old 
friend  would  desert  him.  More  than  that,  there  was 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  people  on  the  Summer 
Shelter  knew  that  the  Dunkery  Beacon  was  now  manned 


ON   BOARD   THE   "  DUNKERY   BEACON  "          245 

by  pirates,  although  it  was  likely  that  they  would  sus 
pect  the  character  of  the  new-comer. 

But  Shirley  could  only  stand,  and  watch,  and  wait. 
Once  he  thought  that  it  might  be  well  for  him  to  jump 
overboard  and  strike  out  to  the  yacht.  If  he  should  be 
seen  by  his  friends  —  and  this  he  believed  would  happen 
—  and  if  he  should  be  picked  up,  his  report  would  turn 
back  into  safer  waters  this  peaceful  pleasure  vessel,  with 
its  two  ladies  and  its  seven  clergymen.  If  he  should  be 
struck  by  a  ball  in  the  back  of  the  head  before  he  got 
out  of  gunshot  of  the  DunJcery's  crew,  then  his  friends 
would  most  likely  see  him  sink,  the  reason  for  their 
remaining  in  the  vicinity  of  these  pirates  would  be  at 
an  end,  and  they  might  steam  northward  as  fast  as  they 
pleased. 

The  strange  vessel  came  on  and  on,  and  soon  showed 
herself  to  be  a  steamer  of  about  nine  hundred  tons,  of  a 
model  with  which  Shirley  was  not  familiar,  and  a  great 
many  men  on  board.  The  Durikery  Beacon  lay  to,  and 
it  was  not  long  before  this  stranger  had  followed  her 
example,  and  had  lowered  a  boat.  When  three  or  four 
men  from  this  boat  had  scrambled  to  the  deck  of  the 
Durikery  Beacon,  they  were  gladly  welcomed  by  the 
black-headed  fellow  who  had  passed  himself  off  as  Cap 
tain  Hagar,  and  a  most  animated  conversation  now  took 
place.  Shirley  could  not  understand  anything  that  was 
said,  and  he  had  sense  enough  not  to  appear  to  be  trying 
to  do  so;  but  no  one  paid  any  attention  to  him,  nor 
seemed  to  care  whether  he  knew  what  was  going  on  or 
not. 


246  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

At  first  the  manner  of  the  speakers  indicated  that 
they  were  wildly  congratulating  each  other,  but  very 
soon  it  was  evident  that  the  Summer  Shelter  was  the 
subject  of  their  discourse.  They  all  looked  over  at  the 
yacht,  some  of  them  even  shook  their  fists  at  her,  and 
although  Shirley  did  not  understand  their  language,  he 
knew  very  well  that  curses,  loud  and  savage,  were  pour 
ing  over  the  bulwarks  in  the  direction  of  his  friends  and 
their  yacht. 

Then  the  subject  of  the  conference  changed.  The 
fellows  began  to  gaze  northward,  a  glass  was  turned  in 
that  direction,  the  exclamations  became  more  violent 
than  before,  and  when  Shirley  turned,  he  saw  for  the 
first  time  the  other  vessel  which  was  coming  down  from 
the  north.  This  was  now  far  away,  but  she  was  heading 
south,  and  it  could  not  be  long  before  she  would  arrive 
on  the  scene. 

Now  Shirley's  heart  sank  about  as  far  down  as  it 
would  go.  He  had  no  doubt  that  this  very  vessel  was 
another  of  the  pirates.  If  she  carried  a  gun,  even  if  it 
were  not  a  heavy  one,  he  might  as  well  bid  good-bye  to 
the  Summer  Shelter.  The  pirates  would  not  allow  her 
to  go  to  any  port  to  tell  her  tale. 

The  noisy  conference  now  broke  up.  The  boat  with 
its  crew  returned  to  the  other  vessel,  which  almost 
immediately  started,  turned,  and  steamed  away  to  the 
north,  in  the  direction  of  the  approaching  steamer. 
This  settled  the  matter.  She  was  off  to  join  her  pirate 
consort.  Now  the  Dunkery  Beacon  started  her  engines, 
and  steamed  slowly  in  the  direction  of  the  yacht,  as  if 


THE   PEOPLE   ON   THE    "MONTEREY"  247 

she  wished  to  hail  her.  Shirley's  heart  rose  a  little. 
If  there  was  to  be  a  parley,  perhaps  the  pirates  had 
decided  to  warn  the  yacht  to  stop  meddling,  and  to  take 
herself  away,  and  if,  by  any  happy  fortune,  it  should  be 
decided  to  send  him  to  his  friends,  he  would  implore 
them,  with  all  his  heart  and  soul,  to  take  the  advice 
without  the  loss  of  a  second. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE    PEOPLE    ON    THE    "MONTEREY" 

THE  vessel  which  had  last  appeared  upon  the  scene 
and  which  was  now  steaming  down  towards  the  Dun- 
kery  Beacon  and  the  Summer  Shelter,  while  the  small 
steamer  from  the  Mediterranean  was  making  her 
way  northward  to  meet  her,  was  the  Monterey  of  Vera 
Cruz,  and  carried  Captain  Philip  Horn  and  his  wife 
Edna. 

As  soon  as  Captain  Horn  had  heard  of  the  danger 
which  threatened  the  treasure  which  was  on  its  way 
from  London  to  the  Peruvian  government,  —  treasure 
which  had  cost  him  such  toil,  anxiety,  and  suffering,  and 
in  the  final  just  disposition  of  which  he  felt  the  deepest 
interest  and  even  responsibility,  —  although,  in  fact,  the 
care  and  charge  of  which  had  passed  entirely  out  of  his 
hands,  —  he  determined  not  only  to  write  to  Shirley  to 
go  to  Jamaica,  but  to  go  there  himself  without  loss  of 
time,  believing  from  what  he  had  heard  that  he  could 


248  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

surely  reach  Kingston  before  the  arrival  there  of  the 
Dunkery  Beacon. 

But  that  steamer  started  before  her  time,  and  when  he 
reached  Vera  Cruz,  he  found  it  impossible  to  leave  im 
mediately  for  his  destination.  And  when  at  last  he 
bought  a  steamer,  and  arrived  at  Kingston,  the  Dunkery 
Beacon  and  the  yacht  Summer  Shelter  had  both  departed. 
But  the  Captain  found  the  letter  from  Mrs.  Cliff,  and 
while  this  explained  a  great  deal,  it  also  puzzled  him 
greatly. 

His  wife  and  Mrs.  Cliff  had  corresponded  with  some 
regularity,  but  the  latter  had  never  mentioned  the  fact 
that  she  was  the  owner  of  a  yacht.  Mrs.  Cliff  had  in 
tended  to  tell  Edna  all  about  this  new  piece  of  property, 
but  when  she  looked  at  the  matter  from  an  outside  point 
of  view,  it  seemed  to  her  such  a  ridiculous  thing  that 
she  should  own  a  yacht  that  she  did  not  want  to  write 
anything  about  it  until  her  plans  were  perfected,  and  she 
could  tell  just  what  she  was  going  to  do.  But  when  she 
suddenly  decided  to  sail  for  Jamaica,  her  mind  was  so 
occupied  with  the  plans  of  the  moment  that  she  had  no 
time  to  write. 

Therefore  it  was  that  Captain  and  Mrs.  Horn  won 
dered  greatly  what  in  the  name  of  common  sense  Mrs. 
Cliff  was  doing  with  a  yacht.  But  they  knew  that  Shir 
ley  and  Burke  were  on  board,  and  that  they  had  sailed 
on  the  track  of  the  Dunkery  Beacon,  hoping  to  overtake 
her  and  deliver  the  message  which  Shirley  carried.  The 
Captain  decided  that  it  was  his  duty  to  follow  these  two 
vessels  down  the  coast  of  South  America. 


THE  PEOPLE   ON   THE   "MONTEREY"  249 

The  Monterey  was  a  large  steamer  sailing  in  ballast, 
and  of  moderate  speed,  and  the  Captain  had  with  him  — 
besides  his  wife  and  her  maid  —  the  three  negro  men 
whom  he  had  brought  up  from  South  America  and  who 
were  now  his  devoted  personal  attendants,  and  a  good- 
sized  crew.  Captain  Horn  had  little  hope  of  overhaul 
ing  the  two  steamers,  for  even  the  yacht,  which  he  had 
heard  was  a  fast-sailing  vessel,  had  had  twenty-four 
hours'  start  of  him ;  but  he  had  reason  to  hope  that  he 
might  meet  one  or  both  of  them  on  their  return ;  for  if 
the  yacht  should  fail  to  overhaul  the  Durikery  Beacon, 
she  would  certainly  turn  back  to  Kingston. 

Edna  was  as  enthusiastic  and  interested  in  this  voyage 
as  her  husband.  She  sympathized  in  all  his  anxiety  in 
regard  to  the  safety  of  the  treasure,  but  even  stronger 
than  this  was  her  desire  to  see  once  more  her  dear 
friend,  whom  she  had  come  to  look  upon  almost  as  an 
elder  sister. 

During  each  day  the  Captain  and  his  wife  were  almost 
constantly  on  deck,  their  glasses  sweeping  the  south 
eastern  horizon,  hoping  for  the  sight  of  two  steamers 
coming  back  to  Kingston.  They  saw  vessels  coming 
and  going,  but  they  were  not  the  craft  they  looked  for, 
and  after  they  left  the  Caribbean  Sea  the  sail  became 
fewer  and  fewer.  On  the  second  day  after  they  left 
Tobago  Island  they  fell  in  with  a  small  steamer  appar 
ently  in  distress,  for  she  was  working  her  way  under 
sail  and  against  head-winds  towards  the  coast. 

When  the  Captain  spoke  this  steamer,  he  received  a 
request  to  lower  a  boat  and  go  on  board  of  her.  There 


250  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

he  found  an  astonishing  state  of  affairs.  The  steamer 
was  from  a  French  port,  she  carried  no  cargo,  and  she 
was  commanded  and  manned  by  Captain  Hagar  and  the 
crew  of  the  English  ship  Dunkery  Beacon.  Captain 
Hagar's  story  was  not  a  long  one,  and  he  told  it  as 
readily  to  Captain  Horn  as  he  would  to  any  other 
friendly  mariner  who  might  have  boarded  him. 

He  had  left  Kingston  with  his  vessel  as  he  left  it 
many  times  before,  and  the  Caribbees  were  not  half  a 
day  behind  him  when  he  was  hailed  by  a  steamer,  — the 
one  he  was  now  on,  which  had  been  following  him  for 
some  time.  He  was  told  that  this  steamer  carried  a 
message  from  his  owners,  and  without  suspecting  any 
thing,  he  lay  to,  and  a  boat  came  to  him  from  the  other 
ship.  This  boat  had  in  it  a  good  many  more  men  than 
was  necessary,  but  he  suspected  no  evil  until  half-a- 
dozen  men  were  on  his  deck  and  half-a-dozen  pistols 
were  pointed  at  the  heads  of  himself  and  those  around 
him.  Then  two  more  boats  came  over,  more  men 
boarded  him,  and  without  a  struggle,  or  hardly  a 
cross  word,  — as  he  expressed  it,  — the  Dunkery  Beacon 
was  in  the  hands  of  sea-robbers. 

Captain  Hagar  was  a  mild-mannered  man,  an  excel- 
lent  seaman,  and  of  good  common  sense.  He  had  before 
found  orders  waiting  for  him  at  Jamaica,  and  had  not 
thought  it  surprising  that  orders  should  now  have  been 
sent  after  him.  He  had  firearms  on  board  and  might 
have  defended  himself  to  a  certain  extent,  but  he  had 
suspected  no  evil,  and  when  the  pirates  had  boarded  him 
it  was  useless  to  think  of  arms  or  defence. 


THE   PEOPLE   ON   THE   "MONTEREY"  251 

The  men  who  had  captured  the  Durikery  Beaton  made 
very  short  work  of  their  business.  They  simply  ex 
changed  vessels.  They  commanded  Captain  Hagar  and 
all  his  men  to  go  over  to  the  French  steamer,  while  they 
all  came  on  board  the  Dwikery  Beacon,  bringing  with 
them  whatever  they  cared  for.  Captain  Hagar  was  told 
that  he  could  work  his  new  vessel  to  any  port  in  the 
world  which  suited  him  best,  and  then  the  Durikery 
Beacon  was  headed  southward  and  steamed  away. 

When  Captain  Hagar's  engineers  attempted  to  start 
the  engines  of  their  vessel,  they  found  it  impossible  to 
do  so.  Several  important  pieces  of  the  machinery  had 
been  taken  out,  hoisted  on  deck,  and  dropped  overboard. 
Whatever  port  they  might  make,  they  must  make  it 
under  sail. 

A  broken-hearted  and  dejected  man  was  Captain 
Hagar.  He  had  lost  a  vast  treasure  which  had  been 
entrusted  to  him,  and  he  had  not  ceased  to  wonder  why 
the  pirates  had  not  murdered  him  and  all  his  crew,  and 
thrown  them  overboard.  He  hoped  that  in  time  he  and 
his  men  might  reach  Georgetown,  or  some  other  port, 
but  it  would  be  slow  and  disheartening  work  under  the 
circumstances. 

Captain  Horn  was  also  greatly  cast  down  by  the  news 
he  had  received.  With  the  least  possible  amount  of 
trouble,  the  pirates  had  carried  off,  not  only  the  treasure, 
but  the  ship  which  conveyed  it,  and  now  in  all  probabil 
ity  were  far  away  with  their  booty.  He  could  under 
stand  very  well  why  they  would  not  undertake  such 
wholesale  crime  as  the  murder  of  all  the  people  on  the 


252  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

Dunkery,  for  it  is  probable  that  there  were  men  among 
them  who  could  not  be  trusted  even  had  the  leaders  been 
willing  to  undertake  such  useless  bloodshed.  If  Captain 
Hagar  and  his  men  were  set  adrift  on  a  steamer  without 
machinery,  it  would  be  long  before  they  could  reach  any 
port,  and  even  if  they  should  soon  speak  a  vessel  and 
report  their  misfortune,  where  was  the  policeman  of  the 
sea  who  would  have  authority  to  sail  after  the  stolen 
vessel,  or,  if  he  had,  would  know  on  what  course  to 
follow  her? 

Captain  Horn  gave  up  the  treasure  as  lost.  The 
Dunkery  Beacon  was  probably  shaping  her  course  for 
the  coast  of  Africa,  and  even  if  he  had  a  swifter  vessel 
and  could  overhaul  her,  what  could  he  do  ? 

But  now  he  almost  forgot  his  trouble  about  the  treas 
ure,  in  his  deep  concern  in  the  fate  of  Mrs.  Cliff  and  her 
yacht.  He  had  made  up  his  mind  that  his  friends  on 
board  that  little  vessel  —  he  had  very  shadowy  ideas  as 
to  what  sort  of  a  yacht  it  was  —  had  embarked  upon 
this  cruise  entirely  for  his  sake.  They  knew  that  he 
took  such  a  deep  personal  interest  in  the  safety  of 
the  Dunkery  Beacon  ;  they  knew  that  he  had  done 
everything  possible  to  detain  that  vessel  at  Jamaica, 
and  that  now,  for  his  peace  of  mind,  for  the  gratification 
of  his  feelings  of  honor,  —  no  matter  how  exaggerated 
they  might  consider  them,  —  they  were  following  in  a 
little  pleasure  craft  a  steamer  which  they  supposed  to 
be  a  peaceful  merchantman,  but  which  was  in  fact  a 
pirate  ship  manned  by  miscreants  without  conscience. 

His  plan  was  soon  decided  upon.     He  told  Captain 


THE   PEOPLE   ON  THE   "MONTEREY"  253 

Hagar  that  he  would  take  him  and  his  men  on  his  own 
vessel,  and  that  he  would  carry  them  with  him  on  his 
search  for  the  yacht  on  which  his  friends  had  sailed. 
Captain  Hagar  agreed  in  part  to  this  proposition.  He 
would  be  glad  to  go  with  Captain  Horn,  for  it  was  possi 
ble  he  might  hear  news  of  his  lost  vessel,  but  he  did  not 
wish  to  give  up  the  French  steamer.  She  was  worth 
money,  and  if  she  could  be  got  into  port,  he  felt  it  his 
duty  to  get  her  there.  So  he  left  on  board  a  crew  suffi 
cient  to  work  her  to  Georgetown,  but  with  the  majority 
of  his  crew  came  on  board  the  Monterey,  and  Captain 
Horn  continued  on  his  southern  course. 

When  on  the  following  morning  Captain  Horn  per 
ceived  far  away  to  the  south  a  steamer  which  Captain 
Hagar,  standing  by  with  a  glass  to  his  eye,  declared  to 
be  none  other  than  his  old  vessel,  the  Dunkery  Beacon, 
and  when,  not  long  afterwards,  he  made  out  a  smaller 
vessel,  apparently  keeping  company  with  the  Dunkery 
Beacon,  with  another  steamer  lying  off  to  the  eastward, 
he  was  absolutely  amazed  and  confounded.  He  could 
not  comprehend  the  state  of  affairs.  What  was  the 
Dunkery  Beacon  doing  down  south,  when  by  this  time 
she  ought  to  be  far  away  to  the  east,  if  she  were  running 
away  with  the  treasure,  and  what  were  those  two  other 
vessels  keeping  so  close  to  her  ? 

He  could  not  imagine  what  they  could  be,  unless, 
indeed,  they  were  her  pirate  consorts.  "If  that's  the 
case,"  thought  Captain  Horn,  but  saying  no  word  to 
any  one,  "  this  is  not  a  part  of  the  sea  for  my  wife  to 
sail  upon ! " 


254  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

Still  he  knew  nothing,  and  he  could  decide  upon 
nothing.  He  could  not  be  sure  that  one  of  those  vessels 
was  not  the  yacht  which  had  sailed  from  Kingston  with 
Mrs.  Cliff,  and  Burke,  and  Shirley  on  board,  and  so  the 
Monterey  did  not  turn  back,  but  steamed  on  slowly 
towards  the  distant  steamers. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE   "VITTORIO"    FROM    GENOA 

WHEN  Captain  Horn  on  the  Monterey  perceived  that 
one  of  the  vessels  he  had  sighted  was  steaming  north 
ward  with  the  apparent  intention  of  meeting  him,  his 
anxieties  greatly  increased.  He  could  think  of  no 
righteous  reason  why  that  vessel  should  come  to  meet 
him.  He  had  made  out  that  this  vessel  with  the  two 
others  had  been  lying  to.  Why  should  it  not  wait  for 
him  if  it  wished  to  speak  with  him  ?  The  course  of  this 
stranger  looked  like  mischief  of  some  sort,  and  the  Cap 
tain  could  think  of  no  other  probable  mischief  than  that 
which  had  been  practised  upon  the  Dunkery  Beacon. 

The  steamer  which  he  now  commanded  carried  a 
treasure  far  more  valuable  than  that  which  lay  in  the 
hold  of  the  Dunkery,  and  if  she  had  been  a  swifter 
vessel  he  would  have  turned  and  headed  away  for  «afety 
at  the  top  of  her  speed.  But  he  did  not  believe  she 
could  outsail  the  steamer  which  was  now  approaching, 
and  safety  by  flight  was  not  to  be  considered. 


THE   "  VITTORIO  "    FROM   GENOA  255 

There  was  another  reason  which  determined  him  not 
to  change  his  course.  The  observers  on  the  Monterey 
had  now  decided  that  the  small  vessel  to  the  westward 
of  the  Dunkery  Beacon  was  very  like  a  yacht,  and  the 
Captain  thought  that  if  there  was  to  be  trouble  of  any 
sort,  he  would  like  to  be  as  near  Shirley  and  Burke  as 
possible.  Why  that  rapidly  approaching  steamer  should 
desire  to  board  him  as  the  Dunkery  Beacon  had  been 
boarded  he  could  not  imagine,  unless  it  was  supposed 
that  he  carried  part  of  the  treasure,  but  he  did  not 
waste  any  time  on  conjectures.  It  was  not  likely  that 
this  steamer  carried  a  cannon,  and  if  she  intended  to 
attack  the  Monterey,  it  must  be  by  boarding  her ;  prob 
ably  by  the  same  stratagem  which  had  been  practised 
before. 

But  Captain  Horn  determined  that  no  man  upon  any 
mission  whatever  should  put  his  foot  upon  the  deck  of 
the  Monterey  if  he  could  prevent  it.  Since  he  had 
taken  on  board  Captain  Hagar  and  his  men,  he  had  an 
extraordinarily  large  crew,  and  on  the  number  of  his 
men  he  depended  for  defence,  for  it  was  impossible  to 
arm  them  as  well  as  the  attacking  party  would  probably 
be  armed,  if  there  should  be  an  attacking  party. 

Captain  Horn  now  went  to  Edna  and  told  her  of  the 
approaching  danger,  and  for  the  second  time  in  his  life 
he  gave  her  a  pistol  and  requested  her  to  use  it  in  any 
way  she  thought  proper  if  the  need  should  come.  He 
asked  her  to  stay  for  the  present  in  the  cabin  with  her 
maid,  promising  to  come  to  her  again  very  shortly. 

Then  he  called  all   the   available   men  together,  and 


256  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

addressed  them  very  briefly.  It  was  not  necessary  to 
tell  the  crew  of  the  Dunkery  Beacon  what  dangers  might 
befall  them  if  the  pirates  should  come  upon  them  a 
second  time,  and  the  men  he  had  brought  with  him  from 
Vera  Cruz  now  knew  all  about  the  previous  affair,  and 
that  it  would  probably  be  necessary  for  them  to  stand 
up  boldly  for  their  own  defence. 

The  Captain  told  his  men  that  the  only  thing  to  be 
done  was  to  keep  the  fellows  on  that  approaching 
steamer  from  boarding  the  Monterey  whether  they  tried 
to  do  so  by  what  might  look  like  fair  means  or  by  foul 
means.  All  the  firearms  of  every  kind  which  could  be 
collected  were  distributed  around  among  those  who  it 
was  thought  could  best  use  them,  while  the  rest  of  the 
men  were  armed  with  belaying  pins,  handspikes,  hatch 
ets,  axes,  or  anything  with  which  a  blow  could  be  struck, 
and  they  were  ranged  along  the  bulwarks  on  each  side 
of  the  ship  from  bow  to  stern. 

The  other  steamer  was  now  near  enough  for  her  name, 
Vittorio,  to  be  read  upon  her  bow.  This  and  her  build 
made  the  captain  quite  sure  that  she  was  from  the 
Mediterranean,  and  without  doubt  one  of  the  pirates  of 
whom  he  had  heard.  He  could  see  heads  all  along  her 
rail,  and  he  thought  it  possible  that  she  might  not  can 
to  practise  any  trick  upon  him,  but  might  intend  a  bold 
and  undisguised  attack.  She  had  made  no  signal,  she 
carried  no  colors  or  flag  of  any  kind,  and  he  thought  it 
not  unlikely  that  when  she  should  be  near  enough,  she 
would  begin  operations  by  a  volley  of  rifle  shots  from  her 
deck.  To  provide  against  this  danger  he  made  most  of  his 


THE   "VITTORIO"   FliOM   GENOA  257 

men  crouch  down  behind  the  bulwarks,  and  ordered  all  the 
others  to  be  ready  to  screen  themselves.  A  demand  to 
lie  to,  and  a  sharp  fusillade  might  be  enough  to  insure 
the  immediate  submission  of  an  ordinary  merchantman, 
but  Captain  Horn  did  not  consider  the  Monterey  a  vessel 
of  this  sort. 

He  now  ran  down  to  Edna,  and  was  met  by  her  at  the 
cabin  door.  She  had  had  ideas  very  like  his  own.  "  I 
shouldn't  wonder  if  they  would  fire  upon  us,"  she  said, 
her  face  very  pale ;  "  and  I  want  you  to  remember  that 
you  are  most  likely  the  tallest  man  on  board.  No  mat 
ter  what  happens,  you  must  take  care  of  yourself,  —  you 
must  never  forget  that !  " 

"  I  will  take  care  of  you,"  he  said,  with  his  arms  about 
her,  "  and  I  will  not  forget  myself.  And  now  keep  close, 
and  watch  sharply.  I  don't  believe  they  can  ever  board 
us,  —  we're  too  many  for  them  !  " 

The  instant  the  Captain  had  gone,  Edna  called  Maka 
and  Cheditafa,  the  two  elderly  negroes  who  were  the 
devoted  adherents  of  herself  and  her  husband.  "  I 
want  you  to  watch  the  Captain  all  the  time,"  she  said. 
"If  the  people  on  that  ship  fire  guns,  you  pull  him 
back  if  he  shows  himself.  If  any  one  comes  near  him 
to  harm  him,  use  your  hatchets;  never  let  him  out  of 
your  sight,  follow  him  close,  keep  all  danger  from 
him." 

The  negroes  answered  in  the  African  tongue.  They 
were  too  much  excited  to  use  English,  but  she  knew  what 
they  meant,  and  trusted  them.  To  Mok,  the  other  negro, 
she  gave  no  orders.  Even  now  he  could  speak  but  lit- 


258  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

tie  English,  and  he  was  in  the  party  simply  because  her 
brother  Ralph  —  whose  servant  Mok  had  been  —  had 
earnestly  desired  her  to  take  care  of  him  until  he 
should  want  him  again,  for  this  coal-black  and  agile 
native  of  Africa  was  not  a  creature  who  could  be  left 
to  take  care  of  himself. 

The  Vittorio,  which  was  now  not  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  away,  and  which  had  slightly  changed  her  course, 
so  that  she  was  apparently  intending  to  pass  the  Mon 
terey,  and  continue  northward  contented  with  an  observa 
tion  of  the  larger  vessel,  was  a  very  dangerous  pirate 
ship,  far  more  so  than  the  one  which  had  captured  the 
Dunkery  Beacon.  She  was  not  more  dangerous  because 
she  was  larger  or  swifter,  or  carried  a  more  numerous 
or  better-armed  crew,  but  for  the  reason  that  she  had  on 
board  a  certain  Mr.  Banker  who  had  once  belonged  to  a 
famous  band  of  desperadoes,  called  the  "  Rackbirds,"  well- 
known  along  the  Pacific  coast  of  South  America.  He 
had  escaped  destruction  when  the  rest  of  his  band  were 
drowned  in  a  raging  torrent,  and  he  had  made  himself 
extremely  obnoxious  and  even  dangerous  to  Mrs.  Horn 
and  to  Captain  Horn  when  they  were  in  Paris  at  a  very 
critical  time  of  their  fortunes. 

This  ex-Rackbird  Banker  had  had  but  a  very  cloudy 
understanding  of  the  state  of  affairs  when  he  was  en 
deavoring  to  blackmail  Mrs.  Horn,  and  making  stupid 
charges  against  her  husband.  He  knew  that  the  three 
negroes  he  had  met  in  Paris  in  the  service  of  Mrs.  Horn 
had  once  been  his  own  slaves,  held  not  by  any  right  of 
law,  but  by  brutal  force,  and  he  knew  that  the  people 


THE    "VITTORIO"    FROM   GENOA  259 

with  whom  they  were  then  travelling  must  have  been 
in  some  way  connected  with  his  old  comrades,  the  Rack- 
birds.  He  had  made  bold  attempts  to  turn  this  scanty 
knowledge  to  his  own  benefit,  but  had  mournfully  failed. 

In  the  course  of  time,  however,  he  had  come  to  know 
everything.  The  news  of  Captain  Horn's  great  discovery 
of  treasure  on  the  coast  of  Peru  had  gone  forth  to  the 
public,  and  Banker's  soul  had  writhed  in  disappointed 
rage  as  he  thought  that  he  and  his  fellows  had  lived  and 
rioted  like  fools  for  mouths,  and  months,  and  months, 
but  a  short  distance  from  all  these  vast  hoards  of  gold. 
This  knowledge  almost  maddened  him  as  he  brooded 
over  it  by  night  and  by  day.  When  he  had  been  set 
free  from  the  French  prison  to  which  his  knavery  had 
consigned  him,  Banker  gave  himself  up  body  and  soul 
to  the  consideration  of  the  treasure  which  Captain 
Horn  had  brought  to  France  from  Peru.  He  considered 
it  from  every  possible  point  of  view,  and  when  at  last  he 
heard  of  the  final  disposition  which  it  had  been  deter 
mined  to  make  of  the  gold,  he  considered  it  from  the  point 
of  his  own  cupidity  and  innate  rascality. 

He  it  was  who  devised  the  plan  of  sending  out  a  swift 
steamer  to  overhaul  the  merchantman  which  was  to 
carry  the  gold  to  Peru,  and  who,  after  consultation  with 
the  many  miscreants  whom  he  was  obliged  to  take  into 
his  confidence  and  to  depend  upon  for  assistance,  decided 
that  it  would  be  well  to  fit  out  two  ships,  so  that  if  one 
should  fail  in  her  errand,  the  other  might  succeed.  The 
steamers  from  Genoa  and  Toulon  were  fitted  out  and 
manned  under  the  direction  of  Banker,  but  with  the  one 


260  MRS..  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

which  sailed  from  Marseilles  he  had  nothing  to  do. 
This  expedition  was  organized  by  men  who  had  quar 
relled  with  him  and  his  associates,  and  it  was  through 
the  dissension  of  the  opposing  parties  in  this  intended 
piracy  that  the  detectives  came  to  know  of  it. 

Banker  had  sailed  from  Genoa,  but  the  Toulon  vessel 
had  got  ahead  of  him.  It  had  sighted  the  Dunkery 
Beacon  before  she  reached  Kingston;  it  had  cruised  in 
the  Caribbean  Sea  until  she  came  sailing  down  towards 
Tobago  Island ;  it  had  followed  her  out  into  the  Atlantic, 
and  when  the  proper  time  came  it  had  taken  her  —  hull, 
engine,  gold,  and  everything  which  belonged  to  her, 
except  her  captain  and  her  crew,  aud  had  steamed  away 
with  her. 

Banker  did  not  command  the  Vittorio,  for  he  was  not  a 
seaman,  but  he  commanded  her  captain,  and  through  him 
everybody  on  board.  He  directed  her  course  and  her 
policy.  He  was  her  leading  spirit  and  her  blackest  devil. 

It  had  been  no  part  of  Banker's  intentions  to  cruise 
about  the  South  Atlantic  and  search  for  a  steamer  with 
black  and  white  stripes  running  up  and  down  her  funnel. 
His  plan  of  action  was  to  be  the  same  as  that  of  the 
other  pirate,  and  the  Vittorio  therefore  steamed  for 
Kingston  as  soon  as  she  could  manage  to  clear  from 
Genoa.  His  calculations  were  very  good  ones,  but  there 
was  a  flaw  in  them,  for  he  did  not  know  that  the  Dunkery 
Beacon  sailed  three  days  before  her  regular  time.  Con 
sequently,  the  Vittorio  was  the  last  of  the  four  steamers 
which  reached  Jamaica  on  business  connected  with  the 
Incas'  treasure. 


THE   "VITTORIO"   FROM   GENOA  261 

The  Vittorio  did  not  go  into  Kingston  Harbor,  but 
Banker  got  himself  put  on  shore  and  visited  the  town. 
There  he  not  only  discovered  that  the  Dunkery  Beacon 
had  sailed,  that  an  American  yacht  had  sailed  after  her, 
but  that  a  steamer  from  Vera  Cruz,  commanded  by  Cap 
tain  Horn,  now  well  known  as  the  discoverer  of  the 
wonderful  treasure,  had  touched  here,  expecting  to  find 
the  Dunkery  Beacon  in  port,  and  had  then,  scarcely 
twelve  hours  before,  cleared  for  Jamaica. 

The  American  yacht  was  a  mystery  to  Banker.  It 
might  be  a  pirate  from  the  United  States  for  all  he 
knew,  but  he  was  very  certain  that  Captain  Horn  had 
not  left  Kingston  for  any  reason  except  to  accompany 
and  protect  the  Dunkery  Beacon.  If  a  steamer  com 
manded  by  this  man,  whom  Banker  now  hated  more  than 
he  hated  anybody  else  in  the  world,  should  fall  in  and 
'keep  company  with  the  steamer  which  was  conveying 
the  treasure  to  Peru,  it  might  be  a  very  hard  piece  of 
work  for  him  or  his  partner  in  command  of  the  vessel 
from  Toulon  to  get  possession  of  that  treasure,  no  matter 
what  means  they  might  employ,  but  all  Banker  could  do 
was  to  swear  at  his  arch-enemy  and  his  bad  luck,  and  to 
get  away  south  with  all  speed  possible.  If  he  could 
do  nothing,  he  might  hear  of  something.  He  would 
never  give  up  until  he  was  positive  there  was  no  chance 
for  him. 

So  he  took  the  course  that  the  Dunkery  Beacon  must 
have  taken,  and  sailed  down  the  coast  under  full  head 
of  steam.  When  at  last  he  discovered  the  flag  of  his 
private  consort  hoisted  over  the  steamer  which  carried 


262  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

the  golden  prize,  and  had  gone  on  board  the  Dunkery 
Beacon  and  had  heard  everything,  his  Satanic  delight 
blazed  high  and  wild.  He  cared  nothing  for  the  yacht 
which  hung  upon  the  heels  of  the  captured  steamer,  — 
it  would  not  be  difficult  to  dispose  of  that  vessel,  —  but 
his  turbulent  ecstasies  were  a  little  dampened  by  the 
discovery  of  a  large  steamer  bearing  down  from  the 
north.  This  he  instantly  suspected  to  be  the  Monterey, 
which  must  have  taken  a  more  westerly  course  than 
that  which  he  had  followed,  and  which  he  had  there 
fore  passed  without  sighting. 

The  ex-Rackbird  did  not  hesitate  a  moment  as  to 
what  ought  to  be  done.  That  everlastingly  condemned 
meddler,  Horn,  must  never  be  allowed  to  put  his  oar 
into  this  business.  If  he  were  not  content  with  the 
gold  which  he  had  for  himself,  he  should  curse  the  day 
that  he  had  tried  to  keep  other  people  from  getting  the 
gold  that  they  wanted  for  themselves.  No  matter  what 
had  to  be  done,  he  must  never  reach  the  Dunkery  Beacon 
—  he  must  never  know  what  had  happened  to  her.  Here 
was  a  piece  of  work  for  the  Vittorio  to  attend  to  without 
the  loss  of  a  minute. 

When  Banker  gave  orders  to  head  for  the  approaching 
steamer  he  immediately  began  to  make  ready  for  an  at 
tack  upon  her,  and,  as  this  was  to  be  a  battle  between 
merchant  ships,  neither  of  them  provided  with  any  of 
the  ordinary  engines  of  naval  warfare,  his  plan  was  of 
a  straightforward,  old-fashioned  kind.  He  would  run 
his  ship  alongside  the  other;  he  would  make  fast,  and 
then  his  men,  each  one  with  a  cutlass  and  a  pistol, 


THE    "VITTORro"    FROM    GENOA  263 

should  swarm  over  the  side  of  the  larger  vessel  and 
cut  down  and  fire  until  the  beastly  hounds  were  all 
dead  or  on  their  knees.  If  he  caught  sight  of  Captain 
Horn,  —  and  he  was  sure  he  would  recognize  him,  for 
such  a  fellow  would  be  sure  to  push  himself  forward 
no  matter  what  was  going  on, — he  would  take  his  bus 
iness  into  his  own  hands.  He  would  give  no  signal, 
no  warning.  If  they  wanted  to  know  what  he  came 
for,  they  would  soon  find  out. 

Before  he  left  Genoa  he  had  thought  that  it  was 
possible  that  he  might  make  this  sort  of  an  attack 
upon  the  Durikery  Beacon,  and  he  had  therefore  pro 
vided  for  it.  He  had  shipped  a  number  of  grappling- 
irons  with  long  chains  attached  which  were  run  through 
ring-bolts  on  his  deck.  With  these  and  other  appli 
ances  for  making  fast  to  a  vessel  alongside,  Banker  was 
sure  he  could  stick  to  an  enemy  or  a  prize  agelong  as  he 
wanted  to  lie  by  her. 

Everything  was  now  made  ready  for  the  proposed 
attack,  and  all  along  the  starboard  side  of  the  Vittorio 
mattresses  were  hung  in  order  to  break  the  force  of 
the  shock  when  the  two  vessels  should  come  together. 
Every  man  who  could  be  spared  was  ordered  on  deck, 
and  fully  armed.  The  men  who  were  to  make  fast  to 
the  other  steamer  were  posted  in  their  proper  places,  and 
the  rest  of  his  miscreants  were  given  the  very  simple 
orders  to  get  on  board  the  Monterey  the  best  way  they 
could  and  as  soon  as  they  could,  and  to  cut  down  or 
shoot  every  man  they  met  without  asking  questions  or 
saying  a  word.  Whether  or  not  it  would  be  necessary 


264  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

to  dispose  of  all  the  crew  which  Captain  Horn  might 
have  on  board,  Banker  had  not  determined.  But  of 
one  thing  he  was  certain :  he  would  leave  no  one  on 
board  of  her  to  work  her  to  the  nearest  port  and  give 
news  of  what  had  happened.  One  mistake  of  that  kind 
was  enough  to  make,  and  his  stupid  partner,  who  had 
commanded  the  vessel  from  Toulon,  had  made  it. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MERCHANT  SHIPS 

WHEN  the  Vittorio  showed  that  in  veering  away  from 
the  Monterey  she  had  done  so  only  in  order  to  make  a 
sweep  around  to  the  west,  and  when  she  had  headed 
south  and  the  mattresses  lowered  along  her  starboard 
side  showed  plainly  to  Captain  Horn  that  she  was  about 
to  attack  him  and  how  she  was  going  to  do  it,  his  first 
thought  was  to  embarrass  her  by  reversing  his  course 
and  steering  this  way  and  that,  but  he  instantly  dis 
missed  this  idea.  The  pirate  vessel  was  smaller  and 
faster  than  his  own,  and  probably  much  more  easily 
managed,  and  apart  from  the  danger  of  a  collision  fatal 
to  his  ship,  he  would  only  protract  the  conflict  by  trying 
to  elude  her.  He  was  so  sure  that  he  had  men  enough 
to  beat  down  the  scoundrels  when  they  tried  to  board 
that  he  thought  the  quicker  the  fight  began,  the  better. 
If  only  he  had  Shirley  and  Burke  with  him,  he  thought; 


THE   BATTLE   OF   THE   MERCHANT   SHIPS        265 

but  although,  they  were  not  here,  he  had  Edna  to  fight 
for,  and  that  made  three  men  of  himself. 

With  most  of  his  men  crouching  behind  his  port  bul 
warks,  and  others  protected  by  deck  houses,  smokestack, 
and  any  other  available  devices  against  gunshots,  Cap 
tain  Horn  awaited  the  coming  of  the  pirate  steamer, 
which  was  steaming  towards  him  as  if  it  intended  to 
run  him  down.  As  she  came  near,  the  Vittorio  slowed  up, 
and  the  Monterey  veered  to  starboard ;  but,  notwithstand 
ing  this  precaution  and  the  fact  that  they  sailed  side  by 
side  for  nearly  a  minute  without  touching,  the  two  ves 
sels  came  together  with  such  force  that  the  Monterey,  high 
oiit  of  water,  rolled  over  as  if  a  great  wave  had  struck 
her.  As  she  rolled  back,  grappling-irons  were  thrown 
over  her  rail,  and  cables  and  lines  were  made  fast  to 
every  available  place  which  could  be  reached  by  eager 
hands  and  active  arms.  Some  of  the  grappling-irons 
were  immediately  thrown  off  by  the  crew  of  the  Mon 
terey,  but  the  chains  of  others  had  been  so  tightened  as 
the  vessel  rolled  back  to  an  even  keel  that  it  was  impos 
sible  to  move  them. 

The  Monterey's  rail  was  considerably  higher  than  that 
of  the  Vittorio,  and  as  none  of  the  crew  of  the  former 
vessel  had  shown  themselves,  no  shots  had  yet  been 
fired,  but  with  the  activity  of  apes  the  pirates  tried  to 
scramble  over  the  side  of  the  larger  vessel.  Now  fol 
lowed  a  furious  hand-to-hand  combat.  Blows  rained 
down  on  the  heads  and  shoulders  of  the  assailants, 
some  of  whom  dropped  back  to  the  deck  of  their 
ship,  while  others  drew  their  pistols  and  fired  right 


266  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

and  left  at  the  heads  and  arms  they  saw  over  the  rail 
of  the  Monterey. 

The  pirate  leaders  were  amazed  at  the  resistance  they 
met  with.  They  had  not  imagined  that  Captain  Horn 
had  so  large  a  crew,  or  that  it  was  a  crew  which  would 
fight.  But  these  pirates  had  their  blood  up,  and  not  one 
of  them  had  any  thought  of  giving  up  their  enterprise  on 
account  of  this  unexpected  resistance.  Dozens  of  them 
at  a  time  sprang  upon  the  rail  of  their  own  vessel,  and, 
with  cutlass  or  pistol  in  one  hand,  endeavored  to  scramble 
up  the  side  of  the  Monterey;  but  although  the  few  who 
succeeded  in  crossing  her  bulwarks  soon  fell  beneath  the 
blows  and  shots  of  her  crew,  the  attack  was  vigorously 
kept  up,  especially  by  pistol  shots. 

Whenever  there  was  a  chance,  a  pirate  hand  would  be 
raised  above  the  rail  of  the  Monterey  and  a  revolver  dis 
charged  upon  her  rail,  and  every  few  minutes  there 
would  be  a  rush  to  one  point  or  another  and  a  desperate 
fight  upon  the  rail.  The  engines  of  both  vessels  had 
been  stopped,  and  the  screaming  and  roaring  of  the 
escaping  steam  gave  additional  horror  to  this  fearful 
battle.  Not  a  word  could  be  heard  from  any  one,  no 
matter  how  loudly  it  might  be  shouted. 

Whatever  firearms  were  possessed  by  the  men  on  the 
Monterey  were  used  with  good  effect,  but  in  this  respect 
they  were  vastly  inferior  to  the  enemy.  When  they  had 
tired  their  pistols  and  their  guns,  some  of  them  had  no 
more  amimmition,  and  others  had  no  opportunity  to 
reload.  The  men  of  the  Vittorio  had  firearms  in  abun 
dance  and  pockets  full  of  cartridges.  Consequently  it 


THE   BATTLE   OF   THE   MERCHANT   SHIPS        267 

was  not  long  before  Captain  Horn's  men  were  obliged  to 
rely  upon  their  hatchets,  their  handspikes,  their  belay- 
ing-pins,  and  their  numbers. 

Banker  was  in  a  very  furious  state  of  mind.  He  had 
expected  to  board  the  Monterey  without  opposition,  and 
now  he  had  been  fighting  long  and  hard,  and  not  a  man 
of  his  crew  was  on  board  the  other  vessel.  He  had  soon 
discovered  that  there  were  a  great  many  men  on  board 
the  Monterey,  but  he  believed  that  the  real  reason  for  the 
so  far  successful  resistance  was  the  fact  that  Captain 
Horn  commanded  them. 

Several  times  he  mounted  the  upper  deck  of  the  Vit- 
tono,  and  with  a  rifle  in  hand  endeavored  to  get  a 
chance  to  aim  at  the  tall  figure  of  which  he  now  and 
then  caught  sight,  and  who  he  saw  was  directing  every 
thing  that  was  going  on.  But  every  time  he  stood  out 
with  his  rifle  a  pistol  ball  whizzed  by  him,  and  made 
him  jump  back.  Whoever  fired  at  him  was  not  a  good 
shot,  but  Banker  did  not  wish  to  expose  himself  to  any 
kind  of  a  shot.  Once  he  got  a  chance  of  taking  aim  at 
the  Captain  from  behind  the  smokestack,  but  at  that 
moment  the  Captain  stepped  back  hurriedly  out  of 
view,  as  if  somebody  had  been  pulling  him  by  the 
coat,  and  a  ball  rang  against  the  funnel  high  above 
his  own  head.  It  was  plain  he  was  watched,  and  would 
not  expose  himself. 

But  that  devil  Horn  must  be  killed,  and  he  swore 
between  his  grinding  teeth  that  he  himself  would  do  it. 
His  men,  many  of  them  with  bloody  heads,  were  still 
fighting,  swearing,  climbing,  and  firing.  None  of  them 


268  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

bad  been  killed  except  those  who  had  gained  the  deck  of 
the  other  vessel,  but  Banker  did  not  believe  that  they 
would  be  able  to  board  the  Monterey  until  its  captain 
had  been  disposed  of.  If  he  could  put  a  ball  into  that 
fellow,  the  fight  would  be  over. 

Banker  now  determined  to  lead  a  fresh  attack  instead 
of  simply  ordering  one.  If  he  could  call  to  his  men  from 
the  deck  of  the  Monterey,  they  would  follow  him.  The 
Vittorio  lay  so  that  her  bow  was  somewhat  forward  of 
that  of  the  Monterey,  and  as  the  rails  at  the  bows  of  the 
two  vessels  were  some  distance  apart,  there  was  no  fight 
ing  forward.  The  long  boom  of  the  fore-mast  of  the  Vit 
torio  stretched  over  her  upper  deck,  and,  crouching  low, 
Banker  cut  all  the  lines  which  secured  it.  Then  with  a 
quick  run  he  seized  the  long  spar  near  its  outer  end, 
and  thus  swinging  it  out  until  it  struck  the  shrouds,  he 
found  himself  dangling  over  the  forward  deck  of  the 
Monterey,  upon  which  he  quickly  dropped. 

It  so  happened  that  the  fight  was  now  raging  aft,  and 
for  a  moment  Banker  stood  alone  looking  about  him. 
He  believed  his  rapid  transit  through  the  air  had  not 
been  noticed.  He  would  not  call  upon  his  men  to  fol 
low  as  he  had  intended.  Without  much  fear  of  detec 
tion  he  would  slip  quietly  behind  the  crew  of  the 
Monterey,  and  take  a  shot  at  Captain  Horn  the  moment 
he  laid  eyes  on  him.  Then  he  could  shout  out  to  his 
men  to  some  purpose. 

Banker  moved  on  a  few  steps,  not  too  cautiously,  for 
he  did  not  wish  to  provoke  suspicion,  when  suddenly  a 
hand  was  placed  upon  his  chest.  There  was  nobody  in 


THE   BATTLE  OF   THE   MERCHANT   SHIPS        269 

front  of  him,  but  there  was  the  hand,  and  a  very  big 
one  it  was,  and  very  black.  Like  a  flash  Banker  turned, 
and  beheld  himself  face  to  face  with  the  man  Mok,  the 
same  chimpanzee-like  negro  who  had  been  his  slave, 
and  with  whom  in  the  streets  of  Paris  he  had  once  had 
a  terrible  struggle,  which  had  resulted  in  his  capture  by 
the  police  and  his  imprisonment.  Here  was  that  same 
black  devil  again,  his  arms  about  him  as  if  they  had 
been  chain-cables  on  a  windlass. 

Banker  had  two  pistols,  but  he  had  put  them  in  his 
pockets  when  he  made  his  swing  upon  the  boom,  and  he 
had  not  yet  drawn  them,  and  now  his  arms  were  held  so 
tightly  to  his  sides  that  he  could  not  get  at  his  weapons. 
There  was  no  one  near.  Banker  was  wise  enough  not 
to  call  out  or  even  to  swear  an  oath,  and  Mok  had 
apparently  relapsed  into  the  condition  of  the  speechless 
savage  beast.  With  a  wrench  which  might  have  torn 
an  ordinary  limb  from  its  socket,  Banker  freed  his  left 
arm,  but  a  black  hand  had  grasped  it  before  he  could 
reach  his  pistol. 

Then  there  was  a  struggle  —  quick,  hard,  silent,  and 
furious,  as  if  two  great  cobras  were  writhing  together, 
seeking  each  other's  death.  Mok  was  not  armed. 
Banker  could  not  use  knife  or  pistol.  They  stumbled, 
they  went  down  on  their  knees,  they  rose  and  fell 
together  against  the  rail.  Instantly  Banker,  with  his 
left  arm  and  the  strength  of  his  whole  body,  raised 
the  negro  to  the  rail  and  pushed  him  outward.  The 
action  was  so  sudden,  the  effort  of  the  maddened  pirate 
was  so  great,  that  Mok  could  not  resist  it  —  he  went 


270  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

over  the  side.  But  his  hold  upon  Banker  did  not  relax 
even  in  the  moment  when  he  felt  himself  falling,  and 
his  weight  was  so  great  and  the  impetus  was  so  tremen 
dous  that  Banker  could  not  hold  back,  and  followed  him 
over  the  rail.  Still  clutching  each  other  tightly,  the 
two  disappeared  witli  a  splash  into  the  sea. 

Fears  were  beginning  to  steal  into  the  valiant  heart 
of  Captain  Horn.  The  pirates  were  so  well  arnu •<!, 
they  kept  up  such  a  savage  tire  upon  his  decks,  that 
although  their  shots  were  sent  at  random,  several  men 
had  been  killed,  and  others  —  he  knew  not  how  many  — 
wounded,  that  he  feared  his  crew,  ordinary  sailors  and 
not  accustomed  to  such  savage  work  as  this,  might  con 
sider  the  contest  too  unequal,  and  so  lose  heart.  If 
that  should  be  the  case,  the  affair  would  be  finished. 

But  there  was  still  one  means  of  defence  on  which  he 
thought  he  might  rely  to  drive  off  the  scoundrels.  The 
Monterey  had  been  a  cotton  ship,  and  she  was  provided 
with  hose  by  which  steam  could  be  thrown  upon  her 
cargo  in  case  of  fire,  and  Captain  Hagar  had  undertaken 
to  try  to  get  this  into  condition  to  use  upon  the  scoun 
drels  who  were  endeavoring  to  board  the  vessel.  P>y 
this  time  two  heavy  lines  of  hose  had  been  rigged  and 
attached  to  the  boiler,  and  the  other  ends  brought  out 
on  deck  —  one  forward  and  the  other  amidships. 

Captain  Hagar  was  a  quiet  man,  and  in  no  way  a 
fighter,  but  now  he  seemed  imbued  with  a  reckless  cour 
age;  and  without  thinking  of  the  danger  of  exposing 
himself  to  pistol  or  to  rifle,  he  laid  the  nozzle  of  his 
hose  over  the  rail  and  directed  it  down  upon  the  deck 


BANKER    COULD    NOT    HOLD    BACK 


THE   BATTLE   OF   THE   MERCHANT   SHIPS        271 

below.  As  soon  as  the  hot  steam  began  to  pour  upon 
the  astonished  pirates  there  were  yells  and  execrations, 
and  when  another  scalding  jet  came  in  upon  them  over 
the  forward  bulwarks  of  the  Monterey,  the  confusion 
became  greater  on  the  pirate  ship. 

It  was  at  this  moment,  as  Edna,  her  face  pale  and 
her  bright  eyes  fixed  upon  the  upper  deck  of  the  Vit- 
torio,  stood  with  a  revolver  in  her  hand  at  the  window 
of  her  cabin,  which  was  on  deck,  that  her  Swedish  maid, 
trembling  so  much  that  she  could  scarcely  stand,  ap 
proached  her  and  gave  her  notice  that  she  must  quit 
her  service.  Edna  did  not  hear  what  she  said.  "Are 
you  there?"  she  cried.  "Look  out  —  tell  me  if  you 
can  see  Captain  Horn ! " 

The  frightened  girl,  scarcely  knowing  what  she  did, 
rushed  from  the  cabin  to  look  for  Captain  Horn,  not  so 
much  because  her  mistress  wanted  information  of  him 
as  because  she  thought  to  throw  herself  upon  his  protec 
tion.  She  believed  that  the  Captain  could  do  anything 
for  anybody,  and  she  ran  madly  along  the  deck  on  the 
other  side  from  that  on  which  the  battle  was  raging, 
and  meeting  no  one,  did  not  stop  until  she  had  nearly 
reached  the  bow.  Then  she  stopped,  looked  about  her, 
and  in  a  moment  was  startled  by  hearing  herself  called 
by  her  name.  There  was  no  one  near  her;  she  looked 
up,  she  looked  around. 

Then  again  she  heard  her  name,  "  Sophee !  Sophee !  " 
Now  it  seemed  to  come  from  the  water,  and  looking  over 
the  low  rail  she  beheld  a  black  head  on  the  surface  of 
the  sea.  Its  owner  was  swimming  about,  endeavoring 


272  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

to  find  something  on  which  he  could  lay  hold,  and  he 
had  seen  the  white  cap  of  the  maid  above  the  ship's 
side.  Sophia  and  Mok  were  very  good  friends,  for  the 
latter  had  always  been  glad  to  wait  upon  her  in  every 
way  possible,  and  now  she  forgot  her  own  danger  in  her 
solicitude  for  the  poor  black  man. 

"  Oh,  Mok !  Mok !  "  she  cried,  "  can't  you  get  out  of  the 
water?  Can  I  help  you?" 

Mok  shouted  out  one  of  his  few  English  words. 
"Rope!  rope!"  he  said.  But  Sophia  could  see  no 
rope  except  those  which  were  fast  to  something,  and  in 
her  terror  she  ran  aft  to  call  for  assistance. 

There  was  now  not  so  much  noise  and  din.  The  steam 
was  not  escaping  from  the  boilers  of  the  Monterey,  for  it 
was  needed  for  the  hose,  and  there  were  no  more  shots 
fired  from  the  Vittorio.  The  officers  of  the  pirate  ship 
were  running  here  and  there  looking  for  Banker,  that 
they  might  ask  for  orders,  while  the  men  were  crowding 
together  behind  every  possible  protection,  and  rushing 
below  to  escape  the  terrible  streams  of  scalding  steam. 

Now  that  they  could  work  in  safety,  the  Monterey's 
men  got  their  handspikes  under  the  grappling-irons, 
and  wrenched  them  from  their  holes,  and  leaning  over 
the  side  they  cut  the  ropes  which  held  them  to  the 
pirate  ship.  The  two  vessels  now  swung  apart,  and  Cap 
tain  Horn  was  on  the  point  of  giving  orders  to  start  the 
engines  and  steam  ahead,  when  the  maid,  Sophia,  seized 
him  by  the  arm.  "Mrs.  Horn  wants  you,"  she  said, 
"and  Mok's  in  the  water!" 

"  Mok !  "   exclaimed  the  Captain. 


"SHE  BACKED!"  273 

"Yes,  here!  here!"  cried  Sophia,  and  running  to  the 
side,  she  pointed  to  where  Mok's  black  head  and  waving 
arms  were  still  circling  about  on  the  surface  of  the  sea. 

When  a  rope  had  been  cast  to  Mok,  and  he  had  been 
hauled  up  the  side,  the  Captain  gave  orders  to  start 
ahead,  and  rushed  to  the  cabin  where  he  had  left  Edna; 
but  it  was  not  during  that  brief  interval  of  thankfulness 
that  he  heard  how  she  had  recognized  the  Kackbird, 
Banker,  on  the  pirate  ship,  and  how  she  had  fired  at 
him  every  time  he  had  shown  himself. 

The  Monterey  started  southward  towards  the  point 
where  they  had  last  seen  the  yacht  and  the  Durikery 
Beacon,  and  the  pirate  ship,  veering  off  to  the  south 
east,  steamed  slowly  away.  The  people  on  board  of 
her  were  looking  everywhere  for  Banker,  for  without 
him  they  knew  not  what  they  ought  to  do,  but  if  their 
leader  ever  came  up  from  the  great  depth  to  which  he 
had  sunk  with  Mok's  black  hands  upon  his  throat,  his 
comrades  were  not  near  the  spot  where,  dead  or  alive, 
he  floated  to  the  surface. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
"SHE  BACKED!" 

WHEN  Captain  Burke  observed  the  Dwikery  Beacon 
steaming  in  his  direction,  and  soon  afterwards  perceived 
a  signal  on  this  steamer  to  the  effect  that  she  wished 
to  speak  with  the  yacht,  he  began  to  hope  that  he  was 


274  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

going  to  get  out  of  his  difficulties.  The  natural  surmise 
was  that  as  one  of  the  pirates  had  gone  to  join  another 
just  arriving  upon  the  scene,  the  Dunkery  Beacon  —  the 
Captain  and  crew  of  which  must  have  turned  traitors  — 
was  now  coming  to  propose  some  arrangement,  probably 
to  give  up  Shirley  if  the  yacht  would  agree  to  go  its  way 
and  cease  its  harassing  interference. 

If  this  proposition  should  be  made,  Burke  and  Mrs. 
Cliff,  in  conference,  decided  to  accept  it.  They  had 
done  all  they  could,  and  would  return  to  Kingston  to 
report  to  Captain  Horn  what  they  had  done,  and  what 
they  had  discovered.  But  it  was  not  long  before  the 
people  on  the  yacht  began  to  wonder  very  much  at  the 
conduct  of  the  great  steamer  which  was  now  rapidly  ap 
proaching  them,  apparently  under  full  head  of  steam. 

The  yacht  was  lying  to,  her  engines  motionless,  and 
the  Dunkery  Beacon  was  coming  ahead  like  a  furious 
ram  on  a  course,  which,  if  not  quickly  changed,  would 
cause  her  to  strike  the  smaller  vessel  almost  amidships. 
It  became  plainer  and  plainer  every  second  that  the 
Dunkery  did  not  intend  to  change  her  course,  and  that 
her  object  was  to  run  down  the  yacht 

Why  the  Dunkery  Beacon  should  wish  to  ram  the 
Summer  Shelter  nobody  on  board  the  yacht  considered 
for  a  moment,  but  every  one,  even  Willy  Croup,  per 
ceived  the  immediate  necessity  of  getting  out  of  the  way. 
Burke  sprang  to  the  wheel,  and  began  to  roar  his  orders 
in  every  direction.  His  object  was  to  put  the  yacht 
around  so  that  he  could  get  out  of  the  course  of  the 
Dunkery  Beacon  and  pass  her  in  the  opposite  direction 


"SHE  BACKED!"  275 

to  which  she  was  going,  but  nobody  on  board  seemed  to 
be  sufficiently  alive  to  the  threatening  situation,  or  to  be 
alert  enough  to  do  what  was  ordered  at  the  very  instant 
of  command ;  and  Burke,  excited  to  the  highest  pitch,  be 
gan  to  swear  after  a  fashion  entirely  unknown  to  the  two 
ladies  and  the  members  of  the  Synod.  His  cursing  and 
swearing  was  of  such  a  cyclonic  and  all-pervading  char 
acter  that  some  of  those  on  board  shuddered  almost  as 
much  on  account  of  his  language  as  for  fear  of  the  terri 
ble  crash  which  was  impending. 

"  This  is  dreadful ! "  said  one  of  the  clergymen,  ad 
vancing  as  if  he  would  mount  to  the  pilot  house. 

"  Stop ! "  said  Mr.  Arbuckle,  excitedly  placing  his 
hand  upon  the  shoulder  of  the  other.  "  Don't  interfere  at 
such  a  moment.  The  ship  must  be  managed." 

In  a  very  short  time,  although  it  seemed  like  long, 
weary  minutes  to  the  people  on  the  yacht,  her  engines 
moved,  her  screw  revolved,  and  she  slowly  moved  around 
to  leeward.  If  she  could  have  done  this  half  a  minute 
sooner,  she  would  have  steamed  out  of  the  course  of  the 
Dunkery  Beacon  so  that  that  vessel  must  have  passed 
her,  but  she  did  not  do  it  soon  enough.  The  large 
steamer  came  on  at  what  seemed  amazing  speed,  and 
would  have  struck  the  yacht  a  little  abaft  the  bow  had 
not  Burke,  seeing  that  a  collision  could  not  be  avoided, 
quickly  reversed  his  helm.  Almost  in  the  next  second 
the  two  vessels  came  together,  but  it  was  the  stem  of  the 
yacht  which  struck  the  larger  steamer  abaft  the  bow. 

The  shock  to  the  Summer  Shelter  was  terrific,  and 
having  but  little  headway  at  the  moment  of  collision  she 


276  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

was  driven  backward  by  the  tremendous  momentum  of 
the  larger  vessel  as  if  she  had  been  a  ball  struck  by  a 
bat.  Every  person  on  board  was  thrown  down  and 
hurled  forward.  Mrs.  Cliff  extended  herself  flat  upon 
the  deck,  her  arms  outspread,  and  every  clergyman  was 
stretched  out  at  full  length  or  curled  up  against  some 
obstacle.  The  engineer  had  been  thrown  among  his 
levers  and  cranks,  bruising  himself  badly  about  the 
head  and  shoulders,  while  his  assistant  and  Mr.  Hodgson, 
who  were  at  work  below,  were  jammed  among  the  ashes 
of  the  furnace  as  if  they  were  trying  to  stop  the  draught 
with  their  bodies. 

Mr.  Burdette  was  on  the  forward  deck,  and  if  he  had 
not  tripped  and  fallen,  would  probably  have  been  shot 
overboard;  and  the  sailing-master  was  thrown  against 
the  smokestack  with  such  violence  that  for  a  few  mo 
ments  he  was  insensible. 

Burke,  who  was  at  the  wheel,  saw  what  was  coming 
and  tried  to  brace  himself  so  that  he  should  not  be  im 
paled  upon  one  of  the  handles,  but  the  shock  was  too 
much  for  him  and  he  pitched  forward  with  such  force 
that  he  came  near  going  over  the  wheel  and  out  of  the 
window  of  the  pilot  house.  As  soon  as  Captain  Burke 
could  recover  himself  he  scrambled  back  to  his  position 
behind  the  wheel.  He  had  been  dazed  and  bruised,  but 
his  senses  quickly  came  to  him  and  he  comprehended 
the  present  condition  of  affairs. 

The  yacht  had  not  only  been  forced  violently  back 
ward,  but  had  been  veered  around  so  that  it  now  lay 
with  its  broadside  towards  the  bow  of  the  other  steamer. 


"SHE  BACKED!"  277 

In  some  way,  either  unwittingly  by  the  engineer  or  by 
the  violence  of  the  shock,  her  engine  had  been  stopped 
and  she  was  without  motion,  except  the  slight  pitching 
and  rolling  occasioned  by  the  collision.  The  Dunlcery 
Beacon  was  not  far  away,  and  Burke  saw  to  his  horror 
that  she  was  again  moving  forward.  She  was  coming 
slowly,  but  if  she  reached  the  yacht  in  the  latter's 
present  position,  she  would  have  weight  and  force  enough 
to  turn  over  the  smaller  vessel. 

Immediately  Burke  attempted  to  give  the  order  to 
back  the  yacht.  The  instant  performance  of  this  order 
was  the  only  chance  of  safety,  but  he  had  been  thrown 
against  the  speaking-tube  with  such  violence  that  he  had 
jammed  it  and  made  it  useless.  If  he  pulled  a  bell  the 
engineer  might  misunderstand.  She  must  back !  She 
could  not  pass  the  other  vessel  if  she  went  ahead.  He 
leaned  out  of  the  door  of  the  pilot  house  and  yelled 
downward  to  the  engineer  to  back  her;  he  yelled  to 
somebody  to  tell  the  engineer  to  back  her;  he  shouted 
until  his  shouts  became  screams,  but  nobody  obeyed 
his  orders,  no  one  seemed  to  hear  or  to  heed.  But  one 
person  did  hear. 

Willy  Croup  had  been  impelled  out  of  the  door  of  the 
saloon  and  had  slid  forward  on  her  knees  and  elbows 
until  she  was  nearly  under  the  pilot  house.  At  the 
sound  of  Burke's  voice,  she  looked  up,  she  comprehended 
that  orders  were  being  given  to  which  no  attention  was 
paid.  The  wild  excitement  of  the  shouting  Captain 
filled  her  with  an  excitement  quite  as  wild.  She  heard 
the  name  of  the  engineer,  she  heard  the  order,  and  with- 


278  MKS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

out  taking  time  to  rise  to  her  "feet,  she  made  a  bound 
in  the  direction  of  the  engine  room. 

Thrusting  her  body  half  through  the  doorway  she 
yelled  to  the  engineer,  who,  scarcely  conscious  of  where 
he  was  or  what  he  was  doing,  was  pushing  himself  away 
from  among  his  bars  and  rods.  "  Back  her ! "  screamed 
Willy,  and  without  knowing  what  she  said  or  did,  she 
repeated  this  order  over  and  over  again  in  a  roaring 
voice  which  no  one  would  have  supposed  her  capable  of, 
and  accompanied  by  all  the  oaths  which  at  that  moment 
were  being  hurled  down  from  the  pilot  house. 

The  engineer  did  not  look  up;  he  did  not  consider 
himself  nor  the  situation.  There  was  but  one  impres 
sion  upon  his  mind  made  by  the  electric  flash  of  the 
order  backed  by  the  following  crash  of  oaths.  Instinc 
tively  he  seized  his  lever,  reversed  the  engine,  and 
started  the  Summer  Shelter  backward.  Slowly,  very 
slowly,  she  moved.  Burke  held  his  breath ! 

But  the  great  steamer  was  coming  on  slowly.  Her 
motion  was  increasing,  but  so  was  that  of  the  yacht,  and 
when,  after  some  moments  of  almost  paralyzing  terror, 
during  which  Willy  Croup  continued  to  hurl  her 
furious  orders  into  the  engine  room,  not  knowing  they 
had  been  obeyed,  the  two  vessels  drew  near  each  other, 
the  Diinkery  Beacon  crossed  the  bow  of  the  Summer 
Shelter  a  very  long  biscuit-toss  ahead. 

"  Miss  Croup,"  said  Mr.  Litchfield,  his  hand  upon  her 
shoulder,  "  that  will  do  !  The  yacht  is  out  of  immediate 
danger." 

Willy  started  up.     Her  wild  eyes  were  raised  to  the 


A   HEAD   ON   THE   WATER  279 

face  of  the  young  clergyman,  the  roar  of  her  own  in 
vectives  sounded  in  her  ears.  Tears  poured  from  her 
eyes. 

"  Mercy  on  me,  Mr.  Litchfield,"  she  exclaimed,  "  what 
have  I  been  saying  ?  " 

"  Never  mind  now,  Miss  Croup,"  said  he.  "  Don't 
think  of  what  you  said.  She  backed  !  " 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

A    HEAD    ON    THE    WATER 

WITH  her  engines  in  motion  and  her  wheel  in  the 
hands  of  Captain  Burke,  the  Summer  Shelter  was  in  no 
danger  of  being  run  into  by  the  Durikery  Beacon,  for 
she  was  much  the  more  easily  managed  vessel. 

As  soon  as  they  had  recovered  a  moderate  com 
mand  of  their  senses,  Burdette  and  Portman  hurried 
below  to  find  out  what  damage  had  been  sustained  by 
the  yacht;  but,  although  she  must  have  been  greatly 
strained  and  might  be  leaking  through  some  open  seams, 
the  tough  keelson  of  the  well-built  vessel,  running  her 
length  like  a  stiff  backbone,  had  received  and  distributed 
the  shock,  and  although  her  bowsprit  was  shivered  to 
pieces  and  her  cut-water  splintered,  her  sides  were  ap 
parently  uninjured.  Furniture,  baggage,  coils  of  rope, 
and  everything  movable  had  been  pitched  forward  and 
heaped  in  disordered  piles  all  over  the  vessel.  A  great 
part  of  the  china  had  been  broken.  Books,  papers,  and 


280  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

ornaments  littered  the  floors,  and  even  the  coal   was 
heaped  up  in  the  forward  part  of  the  bunkers. 

Burke  gave  the  wheel  to  Burdette  and  came  down, 
when  Mrs.  Cliff  immediately  rushed  to  him.  She  was 
not  hurt,  but  had  been  dreadfully  shaken  in  body  and 
mind.  "Oh,  what  are  we  going  to  do.?"  she  cried. 
"  They  are  wretched  murderers !  Will  they  keep  on  try 
ing  to  sink  us?  Can't  we  get  away?" 

"  We  can  get  away  whenever  we  please,"  said  Burke, 
his  voice  husky  and  cracked.  "  If  it  wasn't  for  Shirley, 
I'd  sail  out  of  their  sight  in  half  an  hour." 

"  But  we  can't  sail  away  and  leave  Mr.  Shirley,"  said 
she.  "  We  can't  go  away  and  leave  him ! " 

But  little  effort  was  made  to  get  anything  into  order. 
Bruised  heads  and  shoulders  were  rubbed  a  little,  and  all 
on  board  seemed  trying  to  get  themselves  ready  for  what 
ever  would  happen  next  Burke,  followed  by  Portman, 
ran  to  the  cases  containing  the  rifles,  and  taking  them 
out,  they  distributed  them,  giving  one  to  every  man  on 
board.  Some  of  the  clergymen  objected  to  receiving 
them,  and  expostulated  earnestly  and  even  piteously 
against  connecting  themselves  with  any  bloodshed. 
"  Cannot  we  leave  this  scene  of  contention  ? "  some  of 
them  said.  "Not  with  Shirley  on  that  steamer,"  said 
Burke,  and  to  this  there  was  no  reply. 

Burke  had  no  definite  reason  for  thus  arming  his  crew, 
but  with  such  an  enemy  as  the  Dunkery  Beacon  had 
proved  herself  to  be,  lying  to  a  short  distance  away, 
two  other  vessels,  probably  pirates,  in  the  vicinity,  and 
the  strong  bond  of  Shirley's  detention  holding  the  yacht 


A   HEAD   ON   THE   WATER  281 

where  she  was,  he  felt  that  he  should  be  prepared  for 
every  possible  emergency.  But  what  to  do  he  did  not 
know.  It  would  be  of  no  use  to  hail  the  Durikery  and 
demand  Shirley.  He  had  done  that  over  and  over  again 
before  that  vessel  had  proved  herself  an  open  enemy. 
He  stood  with  brows  contracted,  rifle  in  hand,  and  his 
eyes  fixed  on  the  big  steamer  ahead.  The  two  other 
vessels  he  did  not  now  consider,  for  they  were  still  some 
miles  away. 

Willy  Croup  was  sitting  9n  the  floor  of  the  saloon, 
sobbing  and  groaning,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  did  not  know  what 
in  the  world  was  the  matter  with  her.  But  Mr.  Litch- 
field  knew,  and  he  knew  also  that  it  would  be  of  no  use 
to  try  to  comfort  her  with  any  ordinary  words  of  conso 
lation.  He  was  certain  that  she  had  not  understood  any 
thing  that  she  had  said,  not  even,  perhaps,  the  order  to 
back  the  yacht,  but  the  assertion  of  this  would  have 
made  but  little  impression  upon  her  agitated  mind. 
But  a  thought  struck  him,  and  he  hurried  to  Burke 
and  told  him  quickly  what  had  happened.  Burke 
listened,  and  could  not  even  now  restrain  a  smile.  "  It's 
just  like  that  dear  Willy  Croup,"  said  he ;  "  she's  an 
angel ! " 

"  Will  you  be  willing,"  said  Mr.  Litchfield,  "  to  come 
and  tell  her  that  your  orders  could  not  have  been  forcibly 
and  quickly  enough  impressed  upon  the  engineer's  mind 
in  any  other  way  ?  " 

Without  answering,  Burke  ran  to  where  Willy  was 
still  groaning.  "Miss  Croup,"  he  exclaimed,  "we  owe 
our  lives  to  you !  If  you  hadn't  sworn  at  the  engineer, 


282  MIIS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

he  never  would  have  backed  her  in  time,  and  we  would 
all  have  been  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea ! " 

Mrs.  Cliff  looked  aghast,  and  Willy  sprang  to  her  feet. 
"  Do  you  mean  that,  Mr.  Burke  ?  "  she  cried. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  in  such  desperate  danger  you  had  to 
do  it.  It's  like  a  crack  on  the  back  when  you're  choking. 
You  were  the  only  person  able  to 'repeat  my  orders,  and 
you  were  bound  to  do  it ! " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Litchfield,  "  and  you  saved  the  ship ! " 

Willy  looked  at  him  a  few  moments  in  silence,  then 
wiping  her  eyes,  she  said,  "  Well,  you  know  more  about 
managing  a  ship  than  I  do,  and  I  hope  and  trust  I'll 
never  be  called  upon  to  back  one  again ! " 

Burke  and  most  of  the  other  men  now  gathered  on 
deck,  watching  the  Dttnkery  Beacon.  She  was  still  lying 
to,  blowing  off  steam,  and  there  seemed  to  be  a  good  deal 
of  confusion  on  her  deck.  Suddenly  Burke  saw  a  black 
object  in  the  water  near  her  starboard  quarter.  Gazing 
at  it  intently,  his  eyes  began  to  glisten.  In  a  few 
moments  he  exclaimed,  "  Look  there !  It's  Shirley ! 
He's  swimming  to  the  yacht!" 

Now  everybody  on  deck  was  straining  his  eyes  over 
the  water,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  and  Willy,  who  had  heard 
Burke's  cry,  stood  with  the  others.  "Is  it  Shirley, 
really?"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Cliff.  "Are  you  sure  that's 
his  head  in  the  water  ?  " 

"Yes,"  replied  Burke,  "there's  no  mistake  about  it! 
He's  taking  his  last  chance  and  has  slipped  over  the 
rail  without  nobody  knowing  it." 

"  And  can  he  swim  so  far  ?  "  gasped  Willy. 


A    HEAD    ON    THE    WATER  283 

"  Oh,  he  can  do  that,"  answered  Burke.  "  I'd  steam 
up  closer  if  I  wasn't  afraid  of  attracting  attention.  If 
they'd  get  sight  of  him  they'd  fire  at  him,  but  he  can  do 
it  if  he's  let  alone ! " 

Not  a  word  was  now  said.  Scarcely  a  breath  seemed 
to  come  or  go.  Everybody  was  gazing  steadfastly  and 
rigidly  at  the  swimmer,  who  with  steady,  powerful 
strokes  was  making  a  straight  line  over  the  gently 
rolling  waves  towards  the  yacht.  Although  they  did 
not  so  express  it  to  themselves,  the  coming  of  that 
swimmer  meant  everything  to  the  pale,  expectant  people 
on  the  Summer  Shelter.  If  he  should  reach  them,  not 
only  would  he  be  saved,  but  they  could  steam  away  to 
peace  and  safety. 

On  swam  Shirley,  evenly  and  steadily,  until  he  had 
nearly  passed  half  the  distance  between  the  two  vessels, 
when  suddenly  a  knot  of  men  were  seen  looking  over 
the  rail  of  the  Duiikery.  Then  there  was  a  commotion. 
Then  a  man  was  seen  standing  up  high,  a  gun  in  his 
hand.  Willy  uttered  a  stifled  scream,  and  Mrs.  Cliff 
seized  her  companion  by  the  arm  with  such  force  that 
her  nails  nearly  entered  the  flesh,  and  almost  in  the 
same  instant  there  rang  out  from  the  yacht  the  report 
of  eight  rifles. 

Every  man  had  fired  at  the  fellow  with  the  gun,  even 
Burdette  in  the  pilot  house.  Some  of  the  balls  had 
gone  high  up  into  the  rigging,  and  some  had  rattled 
against  the  hull  of  the  steamer,  but  the  man  with  the 
gun  disappeared  in  a  flash.  Whether  he  had  been  hit 
or  frightened,  nobody  knew.  Shirley,  startled  at  this 


284  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

tremendous  volley,  turned  a  quick  backward  glance  and 
then  dived,  but  soon  reappeared  again,  striking  out  as 
l>efore  for  the  yacht. 

"Now,  then,"  shouted  Burke,  "keep  your  eyes  on 
the  rail  of  that  steamer!  If  a  man  shows  his  head, 
fire  at  it !  " 

If  this  action  had  been  necessary,  very  few  of  the 
rifles  in  the  hands  of  the  members  of  the  late  Synod 
would  have  'been  fired,  for  most  of  them  did  not  know 
how  to  recharge  their  weapons.  But  there  was  no  need 
even  for  Burke  to  draw  a  bead  on  a  pirate  head,  for  now 
not  a  man  could  be  seen  on  the  Dunkery  Beacon.  They 
had  evidently  been  so  surprised  and  astounded  by  a  vol 
ley  of  rifle  shots  from  this  pleasure  yacht,  which  they 
had  supposed  to  be  as  harmless  as  a  floating  log,  that 
every  man  on  deck  had  crouched  behind  the  bulwarks. 

Now  Burke  gave  orders  to  steam  slowly  forward,  and 
for  everybody  to  keep  covered  as  much  as  possible; 
and  when  in  a  few  minutes  the  yacht's  engine  stopped 
and  Shirley  swam  slowly  around  her  stern,  there  was  a 
rush  to  the  other  side  of  the  deck,  a  life  preserver  was 
dropped  to  the  swimmer,  steps  were  let  down,  and  the 
next  minute  Shirley  was  on  deck,  Burke's  strong  arm 
fairly  lifting  him  in  over  the  rail.  In  a  few  moments 
the  deck  of  the  yacht  was  the  scene  of  wild  and  excited 
welcome  and  delight.  Each  person  on  board  felt  as  if 
a  brother  had  suddenly  been  snatched  from  fearful 
danger  and  returned  to  their  midst. 

"I  can't  tell  you  anything  now,"  said  Shirley. 
"  Give  me  a  dram,  and  let  me  get  on  some  dry  clothes ! 


A    HEAD   ON   THE   WATER  285 

And  now  all  of  you  go  and  attend  to  what  you've  got 
to  do.  Don't  bother  about  that  steamer  —  she'll  go 
down  in  half  an  hour!  She's  got  a  big  hole  stove  in 
her  bow ! " 

With  a  cry  of  surprise  Burke  turned  and  looked  out 
at  the  Dunkery  Beacon.  Even  now  she  had  keeled  over 
to  starboard  so  much  that  her  deck  was  visible,  and  her 
head  was  already  lower  than  her  stern.  "She'll  sink," 
he  cried,  "with  all  that  gold  on  board!  " 

"Yes,"  said  Shirley,  turning  with  a  weak  smile  as  he 
made  his  way  to  the  cabin,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Hodgson, 
"she'll  go  down  with  every  bar  of  it! " 

There  was  great  commotion  now  on  the  Dunkery 
Beacon.  It  was  plain  that  the  people  on  board  of  her 
had  discovered  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  try  to  save  the 
vessel,  and  they  were  lowering  her  boats.  Burke  and 
his  companions  stood  and  watched  for  some  minutes. 
"  What  shall  we  do ! "  exclaimed  Mr.  Arbuckle,  ap 
proaching  Burke.  "Can  we  offer  those  unfortunate 
wretches  any  assistance?" 

"All  we  can  do,"  said  Burke,  "is  to  keep  out  of  their 
way.  I  wouldn't  trust  one  of  them  within  pistol  shot." 
Now  Shirley  reappeared  on  deck  —  he  had  had  his 
dram,  and  had  changed  his  clothes.  "You're  right," 
said  he,  "they're  a  set  of  pirates  —  every  man  of  them! 
If  we  should  take  them  on  board,  they'd  cut  all  our 
throats.  They've  got  boats  enough,  and  the  other 
pirates  can  pick  them  up.  Keep  her  off,  Burke;  that's 
what  I  say !  " 

There  was  no  time  now  for  explanations  or  for  any 


286  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

story  to  be  told,  and  Burke  gave  orders  that  the  yacht 
should  be  kept  away  from  the  sinking  steamer  and  her 
boats.  Suddenly  Burdette,  from  the  pilot  house,  sung 
out  that  there  was  a  steamer  astern,  and  the  eyes  which 
had  been  so  steadfastly  fixed  upon  the  Dunkery  Beacon 
now  turned  in  that  direction.  There  they  saw,  less  than 
a  mile  away,  a  large  steamer  coming  down  from  the 
north. 

Burke's  impulse  was  to  give  orders  to  go  ahead  at  full 
speed,  but  he  hesitated,  and  raised  his  glass  to  his  eye. 
Then  in  a  few  moments  he  put  down  his  glass,  turned 
around,  and  shouted,  "  That's  the  Monterey  I  The  Mon 
terey!  and  Captain  Horn! " 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

11°  30'  19"  N.    LAT.    BY    56°   10'  49"  W.    LONG. 

THE  announcement  of  the  approach  of  Captain  Horn 
created  a  sensation  upon  the  Summer  Shelter  almost 
equal  to  that  occasioned  by  any  of  the  extraordinary 
incidents  which  had  occurred  upon  that  vessel.  Burke 
and  Shirley  were  wild  with  delight  at  the  idea  of  meet 
ing  their  old  friend  and  commander.  Willy  Croup  had 
never  seen  Captain  Horn,  but  she  had  heard  so  much 
about  him  that  she  considered  him  in  her  mind  as  a 
being  of  the  nature  of  a  heathen  deity  who  rained  gold 
upon  those  of  whom  he  approved,  and  utterly  annihi 
lated  the  unfortunates  who  incurred  his  displeasure. 


11°  30'  19"  K.  LAT.  BY  56°  10'  49"  \V.  LONG.       287 

As  for  Mrs.  Cliff,  her  delight  in  the  thought  of  meet 
ing  Captain  Horn,  great  as  it  was,  was  overshadowed 
by  her  almost  frantic  desire  to  clasp  once  more  in  her 
arms  her  dear  friend  Edna.  The  clergymen  had  heard 
everything  that  the  Summer  Shelter  people  could  tell 
them  about  Captain  Horn  and  his  exploits,  and  each 
man  of  them  was  anxious  to  look  into  the  face  and 
shake  the  hand  of  the  brave  sailor,  whom  they  had 
learned  to  look  upon  as  a  hero ;  and  one  or  two  of  them 
thought  that  it  might  be  proper,  under  the  circum 
stances,  to  resume  their  clerical  attire  before  the  in 
terview.  But  this  proposition,  when  mentioned,  was 
discountenanced.  They  were  here  as  sailors  to  work 
the  yacht,  and  they  ought  not  to  be  ashamed  to  look 
like  sailors.  The  yacht  was  now  put  about  and  got 
under  headway,  and  slowly  moved  in  the  direction  of 
the  approaching  steamer. 

When  Captain  Horn  had  finished  the  fight  in  which 
he  was  engaged  with  the  Vittorio,  and  had  steamed  down 
in  the  direction  of  the  two  other  vessels  in  the  vicinity, 
it  was  not  long  before  he  discovered  that  one  of  them 
was  an  American  yacht.  Why  it  and  the  Dunkery 
Beacon  should  be  lying  there  together  he  could  not 
even  imagine,  but  he  was  quite  sure  that  this  must  be 
the  vessel  owned  by  Mrs.  Cliff,  and  commanded  by  his 
old  shipmate,  Burke. 

When  at  last  the  Monterey  and  the  Summer  Shelter 
were  lying  side  by  side  within  hailing  distance,  and 
Captain  Horn  had  heard  the  stentorian  voice  of  Burke 
roaring  through  his  trumpet,  he  determined  that  he 


288  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

and  Edna  would  go  on  board  the  yacht,  for  there  were 
dead  men  and  wounded  men  on  his  own  vessel,  and  the 
condition  of  his  deck  was  not  such  as  he  would  wish  to 
be  seen  by  Mrs.  Cliff  and  whatever  ladies  might  be 
with  her. 

When  Captain  Horn  and  his  wife,  with  Captain 
Hagar,  rowed  by  four  men,  reached  the  side  of  the 
Summer  Shelter,  they  were  received  with  greater  honor 
and  joy  than  had  ever  been  accorded  to  an  admiral  and 
his  suite.  The  meeting  of  the  five  friends  was  as  full 
of  excited  affection  as  if  they  were  not  now  standing  in 
the  midst  of  strange  circumstances,  and,  perhaps,  many 
dangers  of  which  none  of  them  understood  but  a  part. 

Captain  Horn  seized  the  first  opportunity  which  came 
to  him  to  ask  the  question,  "What's  the  matter  with 
your  yacht?  You  seem  to  have  had  a  smash-up  for 
ward." 

"Yes,"  said  Burke,  "there's  been  a  collision.  Those 
beastly  hounds  tried  to  run  us  down,  but  we  caught  her 
squarely  on  her  bow." 

At  this  moment  the  conversation  was  interrupted  by 
a  shout  from  Captain  Hagar,  who  had  taken  notice  of 
nobody  on  the  yacht,  but  stood  looking  over  the  water 
at  his  old  ship.  "What's  the  matter,"  he  cried,  "with 
the  Dunkery  Beacon  f  Has  she  sprung  a  leak?  Are 
those  the  pirates  still  on  board?" 

Captain  Horn  and  the  others  quickly  joined  him. 
"Sprung  a  leak!"  cried  Shirley.  "She's  got  a  hole  in 
her  bow  as  big  as  a  barrel.  I've  been  on  board  of  her, 
but  I  can't  tell  you  about  that  now.  There's  no  use  to 


11°  30'  19"  N.  LAT.  BY  56°  10'  49"  W.  LONG.       289 

think  of  doing  anything.  Those  are  bloody  pirates  that 
are  lowering  the  boats,  and  we  can't  go  near  them.  Be 
sides,  you  can  see  for  yourself  that  that  steamer  is  set 
tling  down  by  the  head  as  fast  as  she  can." 

Captain  Horn  was  now  almost  as  much  excited  as 
the  unfortunate  commander  of  the  Dankery  Beacon. 
"Where's  that  gold?"  he  cried.  "Where  is  it 
stowed?" 

"  It  is  in  the  forward  hold,  with  a  lot  of  cargo  on  top 
of  it !  "  groaned  Captain  Hagar. 

Shirley  now  spoke  again.  "Don't  think  about  the 
gold !  "  he  said.  "  I  kept  my  eyes  opened  and  my  ears 
sharpened  when  I  was  on  board,  and  although  I  didn't 
understand  all  their  lingo,  I  knew  what  they  were  at. 
When  they  found  there  was  no  use  pumping  or  trying 
to  stop  the  leak,  they  tried  to  get  at  that  gold,  but  they 
couldn't  do  it.  The  water  was  coming  in  right  there, 
and  the  men  would  not  rig  up  the  tackle  to  move  the 
cargo.  They  were  all  wild  when  I  left." 

Captain  Horn  said  no  more,  but  stood  with  the  others, 
gazing  at  the  Duiikery  Beacon.  But  Captain  Hagar  beat 
his  hands  upon  the  rail  and  declared  over  and  over  again 
that  he  would  rather  never  have  seen  the  ship  again  than 
to  see  her  sink  there  before  his  eyes,  with  all  that  treas 
ure  on  board.  The  yacht  lay  near  enough  to  the  Dun- 
Jcery  Beacon  for  Captain  Hagar  to  see  plainly  what  was 
going  on  on  his  old  ship,  without  the  aid  of  a  glass. 
With  eyes  glaring  madly  over  the  water,  he  stood  lean 
ing  upon  the  rail,  his  face  pale,  his  whole  form  shaking 
as  if  he  had  a  chill.  Every  one  on  the  deck  of  the 


290  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

yacht  gathered  around  him,  but  no  one  said  anything. 
This  was  no  time  for  asking  questions,  or  making 
explanations. 

The  men  on  the  Dunkery  Beacon  were  hurrying  to 
leave  the  vessel.  One  of  the  starboard  boats  was 
already  in  the  water,  with  too  many  men  in  her.  The 
vessel  had  keeled  over  so  much  that  there  seemed  to  be 
difficulty  in  lowering  the  boats  on  the  port  side.  Every 
body  seemed  rushing  to  starboard,  and  two  other  boats 
were  swinging  out  on  their  davits.  Every  time  the  bow 
of  the  steamer  rose  and  fell  upon  the  swell  it  seemed  to 
go  down  a  little  more  and  up  a  little  less,  and  the  deck 
was  slanted  so  much  that  the  men  appeared  to  slide  down 
to  the  starboard  bulwarks. 

Now  the  first  boat  pushed  off  from  the  sinking  ship, 
and  the  two  others,  both  crowded,  were  soon  pulling 
after  her.  It  was  not  difficult  to  divine  their  intentions. 
The  three  boats  headed  immediately  for  the  northeast, 
where,  less  than  two  miles  away,  the  Vitturiu  could  be 
plainly  seen. 

At  this  moment  Captain  Hagar  gave  a  yell ;  he  sprang 
back  from  the  rail,  and  his  eyes  fell  upon  a  rifle  which 
had  been  laid  on  a  bench  by  one  of  the  clergymen. 
He  seized  it  and  raised  it  to  his  shoulder,  but  in  an 
instant  Captain  Horn  took  hold  of  it,  pointing  it  up- 
ward.  "What  are  you  going  to  do?"  he  said.  "Cap 
tain,  you  don't  mean  to  fire  at  them  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  mean  it ! "  cried  Captain  Hagar.  "  \\ V  v«> 
got  them  in  a  bunch.  We  must  follow  them  up  uiul 
shoot  them  down  like  rats ! " 


HE    SEIZED     IT    AND     RAISED     IT    TO    HIS     SHOULDER 


11°  30'  19"  N.  LAT.  BY  56°  10'  49"  W.  LONG.       291 

"We'll  get  up  steam  and  run  them  down!"  shouted 
Burke,  "  We  ought  to  sink  them,  one  boat  after  another, 
the  rascally  pirates  !  They  tried  to  sink  us !  " 

"No,  no,"  said  Captain  Horn,  taking  the  gun  from 
Captain  Hagar,  "we  can't  do  that.  That's  a  little  too 
cold-blooded.  If  they  attack  us,  we'll  fight  them,  but 
we  can't  take  capital  punishment  into  our  own  hands." 

Now  the  excited  thoughts  of  Captain  Hagar  took 
another  turn.  "Lower  a  boat!  Lower  a  boat!"  he 
cried.  "  Let  me  be  pulled  to  the  Dunkery  !  Everything 
I  own  is  on  that  ship,  the  pirates  wouldn't  let  me  take 
anything  away.  Lower  a  boat !  I  can  get  into  my 
cabin." 

Shirley  now  stepped  to  the  other  side  of  Captain 
Hagar.  "  It's  no  use  to  think  of  that,  Captain,"  he  said. 
"  It  would  be  regular  suicide  to  go  on  board  that  vessel. 
Those  fellows  were  afraid  to  stay  another  minute.  She'll 
go  down  before  you  know  it.  Look  at  her  bows  now ! " 

Captain  Hagar  said  no  more,  and  the  little  company 
on  the  deck  of  the  yacht  stood  pale  and  silent,  gazing 
out  over  the  water  at  the  Dunkery  Beacon.  Willy  Croup 
was  crying,  and  there  were  tears  in  the  eyes  of  Mrs. 
Cliff  and  Edna.  In  the  heart  of  the  latter  was  deep, 
deep  pain,  for  she  knew  what  her  husband  was  feeling 
at  that  moment.  She  knew  it  had  been  the  high  aim  of 
his  sensitive  and  honorable  soul  that  the  gold,  for 
which  he  had  labored  so  hard  and  dared  so  much 
should  safely  reach,  in  every  case,  those  to  whom  it  had 
been  legally  adjudged.  If  it  should  fail  to  reach  them, 
where  was  the  good  of  all  that  toil  and  suffering  ?  He 


292  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

had  in  a  measure  taken  upon  himself  the  responsibility 
of  the  safe  delivery  of  that  treasure,  and  now  here  he 
was  standing,  and  there  was  the  treasure  sinking  before 
his  eyes.  As  she  stood  close  by  him,  Edna  seized  her 
husband's  hand  and  pressed  it.  He  returned  the  press 
ure,  but  no  word  was  said. 

Now  the  Dnnkery  Beacon  rolled  more  heavily  than 
she  had  done  yet,  and  as  she  went  down  in  the  swell  it 
seemed  as  if  the  water  might  easily  flow  over  her  for 
ward  bulwarks ;  and  her  bow  came  up  with  difficulty,  as 
if  it  were  sticking  fast  in  the  water.  Her  masts  and  fun 
nel  were  slanting  far  over  to  starboard,  and  when,  after 
rising  once  more,  she  put  her  head  again  into  the  water, 
she  dipped  it  in  so  deep  that  her  rail  went  under  and 
did  not  come  up  again.  Her  stern  seemed  to  rise  in  the 
air,  and  at  the  same  time  the  sea  appeared  to  lift 
itself  up  along  her  whole  length.  Then  with  a  dip  for 
ward  of  her  funnel  and  masts,  she  suddenly  went  down 
out  of  sight,  and  the  water  churned,  and  foamed,  and 
eddied  about  the  place  where  she  had  been.  The  gold  of 
the  Incas  was  on  its  way  to  the  bottom  of  the  unsounded 
sea. 

Captain  Hagar  sat  down  upon  the  deck  and  covered 
his  face  with  his  hands.  No  one  said  anything  to 
him,  —  there  was  nothing  to  say.  The  first  to  speak 
was  Mrs.  Cliff.  "Captain  Horn,"  said  she,  her  voice 
so  shaken  by  her  emotion  that  she  scarcely  spoke  above 
a  whisper,  "we  did  everything  we  could,  and  this  is 
what  has  come  of  it  !  " 

"Everything!"    exclaimed    Captain    Horn,    suddenly 


11°  30'    19"  N.  LAT.  BY  56°  10'  49"  W.  LONG.       293 

turning  towards  her.  "You  have  done  far  more  than 
could.be  expected  by  mortals!  And  now,"  said  he, 
turning  to  the  little  party,  "don't  let  one  of  us  grieve 
another  minute  for  the  sinking  of  that  gold.  If  any 
body  has  a  right  to  grieve,  it's  Captain  Hagar  here. 
He's  lost  his  ship,  but  many  a  good  sailor  has  lost 
his  ship  and  lived  and  died  a  happy  man  after  it. 
And  as  to  the  cargo  you  carried,  my  mate,"  said  he, 
"you  would  have  done  your  duty  by  it  just  the  same  if 
it  had  been  pig  lead  or  gold;  and  when  you  have  done 
your  duty,  there's  the  end  of  it !  " 

Captain  Hagar  looked  up,  rose  to  his  feet,  and  after 
gazing  for  a  second  in  the  face  of  Captain  Horn,  he 
took  his  extended  hand.  "You're  a  good  one !  "  said  he; 
"but  you're  bound  to  agree  that  it's  tough.  There's  no 
getting  around  that.  It's  all-fired  tough ! " 

"  Burke,"  said  Captain  Horn,  quickly,  glancing  up  at 
the  noon-day  sun,  "  put  her  out  there  near  the  wreckage, 
and  take  an  observation." 

It  was  shortly  after  this  that  Mr.  Portman,  the  sailing- 
master,  came  aft  and  reported  the  position  of  the  yacht 
to  be  eleven  degrees,  thirty  minutes,  nineteen  seconds 
north  latitude  by  fifty-six  degrees,  ten  minutes,  forty- 
nine  seconds  west  longitude. 

"What's  the  idea,"  said  Burke  to  Captain  Horn,  "of 
steering  right  to  the  spot?  Do  you  think  there'll  ever 
be  a  chance  of  getting  at  it  ?  " 

Captain  Horn  was  marking  the  latitude  and  longitude 
in  his  note-book.  "  Can't  say  what  future  ages  may  do 
in  the  way  of  deep-sea  work,"  said  he,  "  but  I'd  like  to 


294  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

put  a  dot  on  my  chart  that  will  show  where  the  gold 
went  down." 

Nothing  could  be  more  unprofitable  for  the  shaken 
and  disturbed  spirits  of  the  people  on  the  Summer 
Shelter  than  to  stand  gazing  at  the  few  pieces  of  wood 
and  the  half-submerged  hencoop  which  floated  above  the 
spot  where  the  Dunkery  Beamn  had  gone  down,  or  to  look 
out  at  the  three  boats  which  the  pirates  were  vigorously 
rowing  towards  the  steamer  in  the  distance,  and  this  fact 
strongly  impressed  itself  upon  the  practical  mind  of  Mrs. 
Cliff.  "Captain  Horn,"  said  she,  "is  there  any  reason 
why  we  should  not  go  away  ?  n 

"None  in  the  world,"  said  he,  "and  there's  every 
reason  why  your  vessel  and  mine  should  get  under 
headway  as  soon  as  possible.  Where  are  you  bound  for 
now  ?  " 

"  Wherever  you  say,  Captain,"  she  answered.  "  This 
is  my  ship,  and  Mr.  Burke  is  my  captain,  but  we  want 
you  to  take  care  of  us,  and  you  must  tell  us  where  we 
should  go." 

"  We'll  talk  it  over,"  said  he,  and  calling  Burke  and 
Captain  Hagar,  a  consultation  was  immediately  held; 
and  it  did  not  take  long  to  come  to  a  decision  when  all 
concerned  were  of  the  same  mind. 

It  was  decided  to  set  sail  immediately  for  Kingston, 
for  each  vessel  had  coal  enough,  with  the  assistance  of 
her  sails,  to  reach  that  port.  Mrs.  Cliff  insisted  that 
Edna  should  not  go  back  to  the  Monterey,  and  Captain 
Horn  agreed  to  this  plan,  for  he  did  not  at  all  wish  any 
womankind  on  the  Monterey  in  her  present  condition. 


11°  30'  19"  N.  LAT.  BY  66°  KX  49"  W.  LONG.       295 

The  yacht  had  been  found  to  be  perfectly  seaworthy, 
and  although  a  little  water  was  coming  in,  her  steam 
pump  kept  her  easily  disposed  of  it.  Edna  accepted 
Mrs.  Cliff's  invitation,  provided  her  husband  would  agree 
to  remain  on  the  yacht,  and,  somewhat  to  her  surprise, 
he  was  perfectly  willing  to  do  this.  The  idea  had  come 
to  him  that  the  best  thing  for  all  parties,  and  especially 
for  the  comfort  and  relief  of  the  mind  of  Captain  Hagar, 
was  to  put  him  in  command  of  a  ship  and  give  him 
something  to  think  about  other  than  the  loss  of  his 
vessel. 

While  they  were  talking  over  these  matters,  and  mak 
ing  arrangements  to  send  to  the  Monterey  for  Edna's 
maid  and  some  of  her  baggage,  Captain  Horn  sought 
Burke  in  his  room.  "  I  want  to  know,"  said  he,  "  what 
sort  of  a  crew  you've  got  on  board  this  yacht  ?  One  of 
them  —  a  very  intelligent-looking  man,  by  the  way,  with 
black  trousers  on  —  came  up  to  me  just  noAV  and  shook 
hands  with  me,  and  said  he  was  ever  so  much  pleased  to 
make  my  acquaintance  and  hoped  he  would  soon  have 
some  opportunities  of  conversation  with  me.  That  isn't 
the  kind  of  seaman  I'm  accustomed  to." 

Burke  laughed.  "It's  the  jolliest  high-toned,  upper- 
ten  crew  that  ever  swabbed  a  deck  or  shoveled  coal. 
They're  all  ministers." 

"Ministers!"  ejaculated  Captain  Horn,  absolutely 
aghast.  Then  Burke  told  the  story  of  the  Synod. 
Captain  Horn  sank  into  a  chair,  leaned  back,  and 
laughed  until  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks. 

'•'  I  didn't  suppose,"  he  said  presently,  "  that  anything 


296  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

could  make  me  laugh  on  a  day  like  this,  but  the  story 
of  those  Synod  gentlemen  has  done  it!  But,  Burke, 
there's  no  use  of  their  serving  as  seamen  any  longer. 
Let  them  put  on  their  black  clothes  and  be  comfortable 
and  happy.  I've  got  a  double  crew  on  board  the  Mon 
terey,  and  can  bring  over  just  as  many  men  as  are  needed 
to  work  this  yacht.  I'll  go  over  myself  and  detail  a 
crew,  and  then,  when  everything  is  made  ready,  I'll 
come  on  board  here  myself.  And  after  that  I  want  you  to 
remember  that  I'm  a  passenger  and  haven't  anything  to 
do  with  the  sailing  of  this  ship.  You're  Captain  and 
must  attend  to  your  own  vessel,  and  I'm  going  to  make 
it  my  business  to  get  acquainted  with  all  these  clergy 
men,  and  that  lady  I  see  with  Mrs.  Cliff.  Who  is 
she  ?  " 

"By  George!"  exclaimed  Burke,  "she's  the  leading 
trump  of  the  world!  That's  Willy  Croup '." 

There  was  no  "time  then  to  explain  why  Willy  was  a 
leading  trump,  but  Captain  Horn  afterwards  heard  the 
story  of  how  she  backed  the  ship,  and  he  did  not  wonder 
at  Burke's  opinion. 

When  the  Summer  Shelter,  accompanied  by  the  Mon 
terey,  had  started  northward,  Burke  stood  by  Shirley  on 
the  bridge.  Mr.  Burdette  had  a  complete  crew  of  able 
seamen  under  his  command;  there  was  a  cook  in  the 
kitchen,  and  stewards  in  the  saloons,  and  there  was  a 
carpenter  with  some  men  at  work  at  a  spare  spar  which 
was  to  be  rigged  as  a  bowsprit. 

"I'm  mighty  glad  to  lay  her  course  for  home,"  said 
Burke,  "  for  I've  had  enough  of  it  as  things  are ;  but  if 


11°  30'  19"  X.  LAT.   BY  56°  10'  49"  W.  LONG.       297 

things  were  not  exactly  as  they  are,  I  wouldn't  have 
enough  of  it." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  said  Shirley. 

"I  mean  this,"  was  the  answer.  "If  this  was  my 
yacht,  and  there  was  no  women  on  board,  and  no  minis 
ters,  I  would  have  put  on  a  full  head  of  steam,  and  I 
would  have  gone  after  those  boats,  and  I  would  have  run 
them  down,  one  after  another,  and  drowned  every  bloody 
pirate  on  board  of  them.  It  makes  my  blood  boil  to 
think  of  those  scoundrels  getting  away  after  trying  to 
run  us  down,  and  to  shoot  you !  " 

"  It  would  have  served  them  right  to  run  them  down, 
you  know,"  said  Shirley,  "but  you  couldn't  do  it,  and 
there's  no  use  talking  about  it.  It  would  have  been  a 
cold-blooded  piece  of  business  to  run  down  a  small  boat 
with  a  heavy  steamer,  and  I  don't  believe  you  would 
have  been  willing  to  do  it  yourself  when  you  got  close 
on  to  them !  But  the  Captain  says  if  we  get  to  Kingston 
in  good  time,  we  may  be  able  to  get  a  cable  message  to 
London,  and  set  the  authorities  at  every  likely  port  on 
the  lookout  for  the  Vittorio" 

The  voyage  of  the  Summer  Shelter  to  Kingston  was 
uneventful,  but  in  many  respects  a  very  pleasant  one. 
There  had  been  a  great  disappointment,  there  had  been 
a  great  loss,  and,  to  the  spirits  of  some  of  the  party,  there 
had  been  a  great  shock,  but  every  one  now  seemed  de 
termined  to  forget  everything  which  had  been  unfortu 
nate,  and  to  remember  only  that  they  were  all  alive,  all 
safe,  all  together,  and  all  on  their  way  home. 

The  clergymen,  relieved  of  their  nautical  duties,  shone 


298  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

out  brightly  as  good-humored  and  agreeable  companions. 
Their  hardships  and  their  dangers  had  made  them  so 
well  acquainted  with  each  other,  and  with  everybody 
else  on  board,  and  they  had  found  it  so  easy  to  become 
acquainted  with  Captain  and  Mrs.  Horn,  and  they  all 
felt  so  much  relieved  from  the  load  of  anxiety  which  had 
been  lifted  from  them,  that  they  performed  well  their 
parts  in  making  up  one  of  the  jolliest  companies  which 
ever  sailed  over  the  South  Atlantic. 

At  Kingston  the  Summer  Shelter  and  the  Monterey 
were  both  left,  —  the  former  to  be  completely  repaired 
and  brought  home  by  Mr.  Portman,  and  the  other  to  be 
coaled  and  sent  back  to  Vera  Cruz,  with  her  officers  and 
her  crew,  —  and  our  whole  party,  including  Captain 
Hagar,  sailed  in  the  next  mail  steamer  for  New  York. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV 

PLAIXTON,    MAINE 

IT  was  late  in  the  summer,  and  Mrs.  Cliff  dwelt  happy 
and  serene  in  her  native  town  of  Plainton,  Maine.  She 
had  been  there  during  the  whole  warm  season,  for  Plain- 
ton  was  a  place  to  which  people  came  to  be  cool  and  com 
fortable  in  summer-time,  and  if  she  left  her  home  at  all, 
it  would  not  be  in  the  months  of  foliage  and  flowers.  It 
might  well  be  believed  by  any  one  who  would  look  out 
of  one  of  the  tall  windows  of  her  drawing-room  that 
Mrs.  Cliff  did  not  need  to  leave  home  for  the  mere  sake 


PLAINTON,    MAINE  299 

of  rural  beauty.  On  the  other  side  of  the  street,  where 
once  stretched  a  block  of  poor  little  houses  and  shops, 
now  lay  a  beautiful  park,  The  Grove  of  the  Incas. 

The  zeal  of  Mr.  Burke  and  the  money  of  Mrs.  Cliff 
had  had  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  minds  of  the 
contractors  and  landscape-gardeners  who  had  this  great 
work  in  hand,  and  the  park,  which  really  covered  a 
very  large  space  in  the  village,  now  appeared  from  cer 
tain  points  of  view  to  extend  for  miles,  so  artfully  had 
been  arranged  its  masses  of  obstructing  foliage,  and  its 
open  vistas  of  uninterrupted  view.  The  surface  of  the 
ground,  which  had  been  a  little  rolling,  had  been 
made  more  unequal  and  diversified,  and  over  all  the 
little  hills  and  dells,  and  upon  the  wide,  smooth 
stretches  there  was  a  covering  of  bright  green  turf. 
It  had  been  a  season  of  genial  rains,  and  there  had 
been  a  special  corps  of  workmen  to  attend  to  the  grass 
of  the  new  park. 

Great  trees  were  scattered  here  and  there,  and  many 
people  wondered  when  they  saw  them,  but  these  trees, 
oaks  and  chestnuts,  tall  hickories  and  bright  cheerful 
maples,  had  been  growing  where  they  stood  since  they 
were  little  saplings.  The  .people  of  Plainton  had  always 
been  fond  of  trees,  and  they  had  them  in  their  side  yards, 
and  in  their  back  yards,  and  at  the  front  of  their  houses ; 
and  when,  within  the  limits  of  the  new  park,  all  these 
yards,  and  houses,  and  sheds,  and  fences  had  been 
cleared  away,  there  stood  the  trees.  Hundreds  of 
other  trees,  evergreens  and  deciduous,  many  of  them 
of  good  size,  had  been  brought  from  the  adjacent  coun- 


300  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

try  on  great  wheels,  which  had  excited  the  amazement 
of  the  people  in  the  town,  and  planted  in  the  park. 

Through  the  middle  of  the  grounds  ran  a  wide  and 
turbulent  brook,  whirling  around  its  rocks  and  spread 
ing  out  into  its  deep  and  beautiful  pools,  and  where  once 
stood  the  widow  Casey's  little  house,  —  which  was  built 
on  the  side  of  a  bank,  so  that  the  Caseys  went  into  the 
second  story  when  they  entered  by  the  front,  —  now 
leaped  a  beautiful  cataract  over  that  very  bank,  scat 
tering  its  spray  upon  the  trunks  of  the  two  big  chest 
nuts,  one  of  which  used  to  stand  by  the  side  of  Mrs. 
Casey's  house,  and  the  other  at  the  front. 

In  the  shade  of  the  four  great  oak  trees  which  had 
stood  in  William  Hamilton's  back  yard,  and  which  he 
intended  to  cut  down  as  soon  as  he  had  money  enough 
to  build  a  long  cow-stable,  —  for  it  was  his  desire  to  go 
into  the  dairy  business,  —  now  spread  a  wide,  transparent 
pool,  half  surrounded  at  its  upper  end  by  marble  terraces, 
on  the  edges  of  which  stood  tall  statues  with  their  white 
reflections  stretching  far  down  into  the  depths  beneuth. 
Here  were  marble  benches,  and  steps  down  to  the  water, 
and  sometimes  the  bright  gleams  of  sunshine  came  flit 
tering  through  the  leaves,  and  sometimes  the  leaves 
themselves  came  fluttering  down  and  floated  on  the  sur 
face  of  the  pool.  And  when  the  young  people  had  stood 
upon  the  terraces,  or  had  sat  together  upon  the  wide  mar 
ble  steps,  they  could  walk  away,  if  they  chose,  through 
masses  of  evergreen  shrubbery,  whose  quiet  paths  seemed 
to  shut  them  out  from  the  world. 

On  a  little  hill  which  had  once  led  up  to  Parson's  barn, 


PLAINTON,    MAINE  301 

but  now  ended  quite  abruptly  in  a  little  precipice  with 
a  broad  railing  on  its  edge  and  a  summer-house  a  little 
back,  one  could  sit  and  look  out  over  the  stretch  of  bright 
green  lawns,  between  two  clumps  of  hemlocks,  and 
over  a  hedge  which  concealed  the  ground  beyond,  along 
the  whole  length  of  the  vista  made  by  Becker  Street, 
which  obligingly  descended  slightly  from  the  edge  of 
the  park  so  that  its  houses  were  concealed  by  the  hem 
locks,  and  then  out  upon  the  country  beyond,  and  to  the 
beautiful  hills  against  the  sky;  and  such  a  one  might 
well  imagine,  should  he  be  a  stranger,  that  all  he  saw 
was  in  the  Grove  of  the  Incas.  Upon  all  the  outer  edges 
of  this  park  there  were  masses  of  shrubbery,  or  little  lines 
of  hedge,  irregularly  disposed,  with  bits  of  grass  opening 
upon  the  street,  and  here  and  there  a  line  of  slender  iron 
railing  with  a  group  of  statuary  back  of  it,  and  so  the 
people  when  they  walked  that  way  scarcely  knew  when 
they  entered  the  park,  or  when  they  left  it. 

The  home  of  Mrs.  Cliff,  itself,  had  seemed  to  her  to  be 
casting  off  its  newness  and  ripening  into  the  matured 
home.  Much  of  this  was  due  to  work  which  had  been 
done  upon  the  garden  and  surrounding  grounds,  but 
much  more  was  due  to  the  imperceptible  influence  of  the 
Misses  Thorpedyke.  These  ladies  had  not  only  taken 
with  them  to  the  house  so  many  of  the  time-honored 
objects  which  they  had  saved  from  their  old  home,  but 
they  had  brought  to  bear  upon  everything  around  them 
the  courtly  tastes  of  the  olden  time. 

Willy  Croup  had  declared,  as  she  stood  in  the  hall 
gazing  up  at  the  staircase,  that  it  often  seemed  to  her, 


302  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

since  she  came  back,  as  if  her  grandfather  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  coming  down  those  stairs.  "I  never  saw 
him,"  she  said,  "and  I  don't  know  what  sort  of  stairs 
he  used  to  come  down,  but  there's  something  about  all 
this  which  makes  me  think  of  things  far  back  and  grand, 
and  I  know  from  what  I've  heard  of  him  that  he  would 
have  liked  to  come  down  such  stairs." 

Mrs.  Horn  and  her  husband  had  made  a  long  visit  to 
Mrs.  Cliff,  and  they  had  departed  early  in  the  summer 
for  a  great  property  they  had  bought  in  the  West,  which 
included  mountains,  valleys,  a  cafion,  and  such  far  ex 
tending  groves  of  golden  fruit  that  Edna  already  called 
the  Captain  "  The  Prince  of  Orange." 

Edna's  brother,  Ralph,  had  also  been  in  Plaint  on.  He 
had  come  there  to  see  his  sister  and  Captain  Horn,  and 
that  splendid  old  woman,  Mrs.  Cliff,  but  soon  after 
he  reached  the  town  it  might  well  be  supposed  it  was 
Mr.  Burke  whom  he  came  to  visit.  This  worthy  mariner 
and  builder  still  lived  in  Plainton.  His  passion  for  an 
inland  residence  had  again  grown  upon  him,  and  he 
seemed  to  have  given  up  all  thoughts  of  the  sea.  He  and 
Ralph  had  royal  times  together,  and  if  the  boy  had  not 
felt  that  he  must  go  with  Captain  Horn  and  his  sister  to 
view  the  wonders  of  the  far  West,  he  and  Burke  would 
have  concocted  some  grand  expedition  intended  for  some 
sort  of  an  effect  upon  the  civilization  of  the  world. 

But  although  Mrs.  Cliff,  for  many  reasons,  had  no  pres 
ent  desire  to  leave  her  home,  she  did  not  relinquish  the 
enterprise  for  which  the  Summer  Shelter  had  been  de 
signed.  When  Captain  Hagar  had  gone  to  London  and 


303 

had  reported  to  his  owners  the  details  of  his  dire  and  disas 
trous  misfortune,  he  had  been  made  the  subject  of  censure 
and  severe  criticism ;  but  while  no  reason  could  be  found 
why  he  should  be  legally  punished  for  what  had  hap 
pened,  he  was  made  to  understand  that  there  was  no 
ship  for  him  in  the  gift  of  the  house  he  had  so  long 
served. 

When  Mrs.  Cliff  heard  of  this,  —  and  she  heard  of  it 
very  soon,  through  Captain  Horn,  —  she  immediately 
offered  Captain  Hagar  the  command  of  the  Summer 
Shelter,  assuring  him  that  her  designs  included  cruises 
of  charity  in  the  North  in  summer  and  in  tropical 
waters  in  the  winter-time,  and  that  of  all  men  she  knew 
of,  he  was  the  Captain  who  should  command  her  yacht. 
He  was,  indeed,  admirably  adapted  to  this  service,  for 
he  was  of  a  kind  and  gentle  nature,  and  loved  children, 
and  he  had  such  an  observing  mind  that  it  frequently 
happened  when  he  had  looked  over  a  new  set  of  passen 
gers,  and  had  observed  their  physical  tendencies,  that  he 
did  not  take  a  trip  to  sea  at  all,  but  cruised  up  the 
smooth  quiet  waters  of  the  Hudson. 

As  soon  as  it  could  possibly  be  done,  Captain  Horn 
caused  messages  to  be  sent  to  many  ports  on  the  French 
and  Spanish  coast  and  along  the  Mediterranean,  in  order 
that  if  the  Vittorio  arrived  in  any  of  these  harbors,  her 
officers  and  men  might  be  seized  and  held ;  but  it  was  a 
long  time  before  there  was  any  news  of  the  pirate  ship, 
and  then  she  was  heard  of  at  Mogador,  a  port  on  the 
western  coast  of  Morocco,  where  she  had  been  sold  under 
very  peculiar  circumstances  and  for  a  very  small  price 


304  MUS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

by  the  men  who  had  come  there  in  her,  and  who  had  de 
parted  north  at  different  times  on  trading-vessels  which 
were  bound  for  Marseilles  and  Gibraltar. 

More  definite  information  was  received  of  the  third  of 
the  pirate  vessels  which  had  been  fitted  out  to  capture 
the  Peruvians' .treasure,  for,  as  this  vessel  approached 
the  West  Indies,  she  was  overhauled  by  a  Spanish 
cruiser,  who,  finding  her  manned  by  a  suspicious  crew 
and  well  supplied  with  firearms,  had  seized  her  as  a 
filibuster,  and  had  taken  her  into  a  Cuban  port,  where 
she  still  remained,  with  her  crew  in  prison  awaiting 
trial  or  a  tardy  release,  in  case  it  became  inconvenient 
to  detain  them  longer. 

The  other  pirate  vessel,  on  which  Captain  Hagar  and 
his  men  had  been  placed  when  they  were  forced  to  leave 
the  Dunkery  Beacon,  finally  reached  Georgetown,  British 
Guiana,  where,  after  a  long  course  of  legal  action,  it  was 
condemned  and  sold,  and  as  much  of  the  price  as  was 
left  after  costs  had  been  paid,  was  handed  over  to  the 
owners  of  the  Dunkery  Beacon. 

Among  the  reasons  which  made  Mrs.  Cliff  very  glad  to 
remain  at  Plainton  was  one  of  paramount  importance. 
She  was  now  engaged  in  a  great  work  which  satisfied  all 
her  aspirations  and  desires  to  make  herself  able  to 
worthily  and  conscientiously  cope  with  her  income. 

When,  after  the  party  on  the  Summer  Shelter  had 
separated  at  New  York,  and  the  ex-members  of  the 
Synod  had  gone  to  their  homes,  Mrs.  Cliff  and  her  party, 
which  included  Shirley  as  well  as  Captain  Horn  and  his 
wife,  had  reached  Plainton,  their  minds  were  greatly 


PLAINTON,    MAINE  305 

occupied  with  the  subject  of  the  loss  of  the  Peruvians' 
share  of  the  Incas'  treasures.  It  was  delightful  for  Mrs. 
Cliff  and  Willy  to  reach  again  their  charming  home,  and 
their  friends  were  filled  with  a  pleasure  which  they 
could  scarcely  express  to  see  and  enjoy  the  beauties  and 
the  comforts  with  which  Mrs.  Cliff  had  surrounded  her 
self;  but  there  was  still  upon  them  all  the  shadow  of 
that  great  misfortune  which  had  happened  off  the  east 
ern  coast  of  South  America. 

News  came  to  them  of  what  had  been  said  and  done 
in  London,  and  of  what  had  been  said  and  done,  not 
only  in  Peru,  but  in  other  states  of  South  America  in 
regard  to  the  loss  of  the  treasure,  but  nothing  was  said 
or  done  in  any  quarter  which  tended  to  invalidate  their 
right  to  the  share  of  the  gold  which  had  been  adjudged 
to  them.  The  portion  of  the  treasure  allotted  to  the 
Peruvian  government  had  been  duly  delivered  to  its 
agents,  and  it  was  the  fault  of  those  agents,  acting  under 
the  feverish  orders  of  their  superiors,  which  had  been  the 
reason  of  its  injudicious  and  hasty  transportation  and 
consequent  loss. 

But  although  the  ownership  of  the  treasure  which  was 
now  in  the  safe  possession  of  those  to  whom  it  had  been 
adjudged  was  not  considered  a  matter  to  be  questioned 
or  discussed,  Mrs.  Cliff  was  not  satisfied  with  the  case  as 
it  stood,  and  her  dissatisfaction  rapidly  spread  to  the 
other  members  of  the  party.  It  pained  her  to  think  that 
the  native  Peruvians,  those  who  might  be  considered  the 
descendants  of  the  Incas,  would  now  derive  no  benefit 
from  the  discovery  of  the  treasure  of  their  ancestors,  and 


306  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

she  announced  her  intention  to  devote  a  portion  of  her 
wealth  to  the  interests  and  advantage  of  these  natives. 

Captain  Horn  was  much  impressed  with  this  idea,  and 
agreed  that  if  Mrs.  Cliff  would  take  the  management  of 
the  enterprise  into  her  own  hands,  he  would  contribute 
largely  to  any  plan  which  she  might  adopt  for  the  bene 
fit  of  the  Peruvians.  Edna,  who  now  held  a  large  portion 
of  the  treasure  in  her  own  right,  insisted  upon  being 
allowed  to  contribute  her  share  to  this  object,  and  Burke 
and  Shirley  declared  that  they  would  become  partners, 
according  to  their  means,  in  the  good  work. 

There  was,  of  course,  a  great  deal  of  talk  and  discussion 
in  regard  to  the  best  way  of  using  the  very  large  amount 
of  money  which  had  been  contributed  by  the  various 
members  of  the  party,  but  before  Captain  Horn  and  his 
wife  left  Plainton  everything  was  arranged,  and  Mrs. 
Cliff  found  herself  at  the  head  of  an  important  and  w«-ll- 
endowed  private  mission  to  the  native  inhabitants  of 
Peru.  She  did  not  make  immediately  a  definite  plan 
of  action,  but  her  first  steps  in  the  direction  of  her  great 
object  showed  that  she  was  a  woman  well  qualified  to 
organize  and  carry  on  the  great  work  in  the  cause  of 
civilization  and  enlightenment  which  she  had  under 
taken.  She  engaged  the  Reverend  Mr.  Hodgson  and  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Litchfield,  both  young  men  whose  disposi 
tions  led  them  to  prefer  earnest  work  in  new  and  foreign 
lands  to  the  ordinary  labors  of  a  domestic  parish,  to  go 
to  Peru  to  survey  the  scene  of  the  proposed  work,  and  to 
report  what,  in  their  opinion,  ought  to  be  done  and  how 
it  should  be  undertaken. 


PLAINTON,    MAINE  307 

Mrs.  Cliff,  now  in  the  very  maturity  of  her  mental  and 
physical  powers,  felt  that  this  great  work  was  the  most 
congenial  task  that  she  could  possibly  have  undertaken, 
and  her  future  life  now  seemed  open  before  her  in  a 
series  of  worthy  endeavors  in  which  her  conscientious 
feelings  in  regard  to  her  responsibilities,  and  her  desire 
to  benefit  her  fellow-beings  should  be  fully  satisfied.  As 
to  her  fellow-workers  and  those  of  her  friends  who 
thoroughly  comprehended  the  nature  of  the  case,  there 
was  a  general  belief  that  those  inhabitants  of  Peru  who 
were  rightfully  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  discovered 
treasure,  would,  under  her  management  and  direction  of 
the  funds  in  her  hands,  receive  far  more  good  and  ad 
vantage  than  they  could  possibly  have  expected  had  the 
treasure  gone  to  the  Peruvian  government.  In  fact, 
there  were  those  who  said  that  had  the  Dunkery  Beacon 
safely  arrived  in  the  port  of  Callao,  the  whole  of  the 
continent  of  South  America  might  have  been  disturbed 
and  disrupted  by  the  immense  over-balance  of  wealth 
thrown  into  the  treasury  of  one  of  its  states. 

It  is  true  that  Mrs.  Cliff's  plans  and  purposes  did  not 
entirely  pass  without  criticism.  "It's  all  very  well," 
said  Miss  Nancy  Shott  to  Mrs.  Ferguson  one  morning 
when  the  latter  had  called  upon  her  with  a  little  basket 
of  cake  and  preserves,  "  for  Mrs.  Cliff  to  be  sending  her 
money  to  the  colored  poor  of  South  America,  but  a 
person  who  has  lived  as  she  has  lived  in  days  gone  by 
ought  to  remember  that  there  are  poor  people  who  are 
not  colored,  and  who  live  a  great  deal  nearer  than  South 
America."  Miss  Shott  Avas  at  work  as  she  said  this, 


308  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

but  she  could  always  talk  when  she  was  working.  She 
was  busy  packing  the  California  blankets,  which  Mrs. 
Cliff  had  given  her,  in  a  box  for  the  summer,  putting 
pieces  of  camphor  rolled  up  in  paper  between  their  folds. 
"  If  she  wanted  to  find  people  to  give  money  to,  she 
needn't  hire  ministers  to  go  out  and  hunt  for  them. 
There  are  plenty  of  them  here,  right  under  her  nose, 
and  if  she  doesn't  see  them,  it's  because  she  shuts  her 
eyes  wilfully,  and  won't  look." 

"  But  it  seems  to  me,  Miss  Shott,"  said  Mrs.  Ferguson, 
"  that  Mrs.  Cliff  has  done  ever  so  much  for  the  people  of 
Plainton.  For  instance,  there  are  those  blankets.  What 
perfectly  splendid  things  they  are,  —  so  soft  and  light, 
and  yet  so  thick  and  warm!  They're  all  wool,  every 
thread  of  them,  I  have  no  doubt." 

"All  wool!"  said  Miss  Shott.  "Of  course  they  are, 
and  that's  the  trouble  with  them.  Some  of  these  days 
they'll  have  to  be  washed,  and  then  they'll  shrink  up 
so  short  that  I  suppose  I'll  have  to  freeze  either  my  chin 
or  my  toes.  And  as  to  her  giving  them  to  me,  'turn 
about's  fair  play.'  I  once  jined  in  to  give  her  a  pair." 

"  Oh,"  said  Mrs.  Ferguson. 

Mr.  George  Burke  was  now  the  only  member  of  our 
little  party  of  friends  who  did  not  seem  entirely  satisfied 
with  his  condition  and  prospects.  He  made  no  com 
plaints,  but  he  was  restless  and  discontented.  He  did 
not  want  to  go  to  sea,  for  he  vowed  he  had  had  enough 
of  it,  and  he  did  not  seem  to  find  any  satisfaction  in  a 
life  on  shore.  He  paid  a  visit  to  his  mother,  but  he  did 
not  stay  with  her  very  long,  fur  Plaintou  seemed  to  suit 


PLATNTOX,    MAINE  809 

him  better.  But  when  he  returned  to  his  house  in  that 
town,  lie  soon  left  it  to  go  and  spend  a  few  days  with 
Shirley. 

When  he  came  back,  Mrs.  Cliff,  who  believed  that  his 
uneasy  state  of  mind  was  the  result  of  want  of  occupa 
tion  and  the  monotonous  life  of  a  small  town,  advised 
him  to  go  out  West  and  visit  Captain  Horn.  There  was 
so  much  in  that  grand  country  to  interest  him  and  to 
occupy  him,  body  and  mind;  but  to  this  advice  Mr.  Burke 
stoutly  objected. 

"  I'm  not  going  out  there,"  he  said.  "  I've  seen  enough 
of  Captain  Horn  and  his  wife.  To  tell  you  the  truth, 
Mrs.  Cliff,  that's  what's  the  matter  with  me." 

"  I  don't  understand  you,"  said  she. 

"  It's  simply  this,"  said  Burke.  "  Since  I've  seen  so 
much  of  the  Captain  and  his  wife,  and  the  happiness  they 
get  out  of  each  other,  I've  found  out  that  the  kind  of 
happiness  they've  got  is  exactly  the  kind  of  happiness 
I  want,  and  there  isn't  anything  else  —  money,  or  land, 
or  orange  groves,  or  steamships  —  that  can  take  the  place 
of  it." 

"  In  other  words,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  with  a  smile,  "  you 
want  to  get  married." 

"  You've  hit  it  exactly,"  said  he.  "  I  want  a  wife. 
Of  course  I  don't  expect  to  get  exactly  such  a  wife  as 
Captain  Horn  has — they're  about  as  scarce  as  buried  treas 
ure,  I  take  it — but  I  want  one  who  will  suit  me  and  who 
is  suited  to  me.  That's  what  I  want,  and  I  shall  never 
be  happy  until  I  get  her." 

"  I  should  think  it  would  be  easy  enough  for  you  to 


810  MRS.  CUFF'S  YAPHT 

get  a  wife,  Mr.  Burke,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff.  "You  are  in  the 
prime  of  life,  you  have  plenty  of  money,  and  I  don't 
believe  it  would  be  at  all  hard  to  find  a  good  woman  who 
would  be  glad  to  have  you." 

"That's  what  iny  mother  said,"  said  he.  "When  I 
was  there  she  bored  me  from  morning  until  night  by 
telling  me  I  ought  to  get  married,  and  mentioning  girls 
on  Cape  Cod  who  would  be  glad  to  have  me.  But  there 
isn't  any  girl  on  Cape  Cod  that  I  want.  To  get  rid  of 
tin-in.  I  came  away  sooner  than  I  intended." 

"Well  then,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "perhaps  there  is  some 
one  in  particular  that  you  would  like  to  have." 

••  That's  it  exactly,"  said  Burke,  "there  is  some  one  in 
particular." 

"  And  do  you  mind  telling  me  who  it  is  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Since  you  ask  me,  I  don't  mind  a  bit,"  said  he.  "  It's 
Miss  Croup." 

Mrs.  Cliff  started  back  astonished.  "Willy  Croup!" 
she  exclaimed.  "You  amaze  me!  I  don't  think  she 
would  suit  you." 

"  I'd  like  to  know  why  not  ?  "  he  asked  quickly. 

"  In  the  first  place,"  said  she,  "  it's  a  long  time  since 
Willy  was  a  girl." 

"That's  the  kind  I  want,"  he  answered.  "I  don't 
want  to  adopt  a  daughter.  I  want  to  marry  a  grown 
woman." 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Cliff,  "Willy  is  certainly  grown. 
But  then,  it  doesn't  seem  to  me  that  she  would  be  adapted 
to  a  married  life.  I  am  sure  she  has  made  up  her  mind 
to  live  single,  and  she  hasn't  been  accustomed  to  manage 


PLAINTON,    MAINE  31 1 

a  house  and  conduct  domestic  affairs.  She  has  always 
had  some  one  to  depend  upon." 

"  That's  what  I  like,"  said  he.  "  Let  her  depend  on  me. 
And  as  to  management,  you  needn't  say  anything  to  me 
about  that,  Mrs.  Cliff.  I  saw  her  bouncing  to  the  galley 
of  the  Summer  Shelter,  and  if  she  manages  other  things 
as  well  as  she  managed  the  cooking  business  there,  she'll 
suit  me." 

"It  seems  so  strange  to  me,  Mr.  Burke,"  said  Mrs. 
Cliff,  after  a  few  moments'  silence.  "  I  never  imagined 
that  you  would  care  for  Willy  Croup." 

Mr.  Burke  drew  himself  forward  to  the  edge  of  the 
chair  on  which  he  was  sitting,  he  put  one  hand  on  each 
of  his  outspread  knees,  and  he  leaned  forward,  with  a 
very  earnest  and  animated  expression  on  his  countenance. 
"Now,  look  here,  Mrs.  Cliff,"  he  said,  "I  want  to  say 
something  to  you.  When  I  see  a  young  woman,  brought 
up  in  the  very  bosom  of  the  Sunday  school,  and  on  the 
quarter  deck  of  respectability,  and  who  never,  perhaps, 
had  a  cross  word  said  to  her  in  all  her  life,  or  said  one  to 
anybody,  judging  from  her  appearance,  and  whose  mind  is 
more  like  a  clean  pocket-handkerchief  in  regard  to  hard 
words  and  rough  language  than  anything  I  can  think 
of ;  —  when  I  see  that  young  woman  with  a  snow-white 
disposition  that  would  naturally  lead  her  to  hymns  when 
ever  she  wanted  to  raise  her  voice  above  common  con 
versation,  —  when  I  see  that  young  woman,  I  say,  in  a 
moment  of  life  or  death  to  her  and  every  one  about  her, 
dash  to  the  door  of  that  engine  room,  and  shout  my 
orders  down  to  that  muddled  engineer,  —  knowing  T 


PLAIN  TON,   MAINE  313 

"  What  is  it  ? "  said  Willy,  letting  her  work  drop  in 
her  lap. 

"  Miss  Croup,"  said  he,  "  I  heard  you  swear  once,  and 
I  never  heard  anybody  swear  better,  and  with  more  con 
science.  You  did  that  swearing  for  me,  and  now  I  want 
to  ask  you  if  you  will  be  willing  to  swear  for  me 
again  ?  " 

"No,"  said  Willy,  her  cheeks  flushing  as  she  spoke, 
"  no,  I  won't !  It  was  all  very  well  for  you  to  tell  me 
that  I  didn't  do  anything  wrong  when  I  talked  in  that 
dreadful  way  to  Mr.  Maxwell,  and  for  you  to  get  the 
ministers  to  tell  me  that  as  I  didn't  understand  what  I 
was  saying,  of  course  there  was  no  sin  in  it ;  but  although 
I  don't  feel  as  badly  about  it  as  I  did,  I  sometimes  wake 
up  in  the  night  and  fairly  shiver  when  I  think  of  the 
words  I  used  that  day.  And  I've  made  up  my  mind,  no 
matter  whether  ships  are  to  be  sunk  or  what  is  to  hap 
pen,  I  will  never  do  that  thing  again,  and  I  don't  want 
you  ever  to  expect  it  of  me." 

"But,  William  Croup,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Burke,  forget 
ting  in  his  excitement  that  the  full  form  of  her  Chris 
tian  name  was  not  likely  to  be  masculine,  "that  isn't 
the  way  I  want  you  to  swear  this  time.  What  I 
want  you  to  do  is,  to  stand  up  alongside  of  me  in  front 
of  a  minister  and  swear  you'll  take  me  for  your  lov 
ing  husband  to  love,  honor,  and  protect,  and  all  the 
rest  of  it,  till  death  do  us  part.  Now,  what  do  you 
say  to  that?" 

Willy  sat  and  looked  at  him.  The  flush  went  out  of 
her  cheeks,  and  then  came  again,  but  it  was  a  different 


314  MRS.  CLIFF'S  YACHT 

kind  of  a  flush  this  time,  and  the  brightness  went  out  of 
her  eyes,  and  another  light,  a  softer  and  a  different  light, 
came  into  them.  "  Oh !  Is  that  what  you  want  ?  "  she 
said,  presently.  "I  wouldn't  mind  that." 


THE  EXD 


Novels   and   Short  Stories 

BY 

FRANK  R.  STOCKTON 


CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS,   Publishers,  New  York 


"Of  Mr.  Stockton's  stories  what  is  there  to  say,  but  that  they 
are  an  unmixed  blessing  and  delight?  He  is  surely  one  of  the 
most  inventive  of  talents,  discovering  not  only  a  new  kind  in 
humor  and  fancy,  but  accumulating  an  inexhaustible  wealth  of 
details  in  each  fresh  achievement,  the  least  of  which  would  be 
riches  from  another  hand." — W.  D.  H DWELLS,  in  Harper  s  Magazine. 


JUST  ISSUED 

THE   ADVENTURES    OF 
CAPTAIN    HORN 

i2mo,     .     .     $1.50 

A  novel  unlike  any  that  has  hitherto  appeared  from  this 
popular  writer's  pen.  It  is  a  romance  of  the  most  adventurous 
kind,  whose  events,  born  of  Mr.  Stockton's  imagination,  are  wholly 
extraordinary,  and  yet,  through  the  author's  ingenuity,  appear 
altogether  real.  That  Captain  Horn's  adventures  are  varied  may 
be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  they  extend  from  Patagonia  to  Maine 
and  from  San  Francisco  to  Paris,  and  include  the  most  remarkable 
episodes  and  marvelous  experiences — all  of  which  are  woven 
together  by  the  pleasing  thread  of  a  love-story,  and  brightened  by 
the  gleam  of  Mr.  Stockton's  fanciful  humor. 


NOVELS  AND  SHORT  STORIES  BY  FRANK  R.  STOCKTON 


CONCERNING  MR.  STOCKTON'S  STORIES. 

"  Mr.  Stockton,  more,  perhaps,  than  any  recent  writer,  has  helped  to  define 
the  peculiar  virtues  of  the  short  story.  He  has  shown  how  possible  it  is  to  use 
surprise  as  an  effective  element,  and  to  make  the  turn  of  a  story  rather  than  the 
crisis  ofaplot  account  for  everything.  It  may  be  said  in  general  that  Mr. 
Stockton  Goes  not  rely  often  upon  a  sudden  reversal  at  the  endof  a  story  to  cap 
ture  the  reader,  but  gives  him  a  whimsey  or  caprice  to  enjoy  ;  while  he  works 
out  the  details  in  a  succession  of  amusing  turns."—  The  Atlantic  Monthly. 


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THE  LATE  MRS.  NULL 

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first  time."—  The  Critic. 

RUDDER  GRANGE  ' 

i2mo,  paper,  60  cents  ;  cloth,  $1.25. 
"  Humor  like  this  is  perennial."—  /fa shington  Pott. 

THE  RUDDER  GRANGERS   ABROAD 

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"  It  will  be  eagerly  sought  by  all  old  friends  of  Pomona  and  Jonas  and  the  other 

idder  Grange.' >r 
—  The  Outlook. 


characters  who  nave  so  delighted  the  numberless  readers  of  Rudder  Grange.'  " 

/.     I. 


THE   LADY,  OR  THE  TIGER  ? 

And  Other  Stories.     I2mo,  paper,  50  cents  ;  cloth,  $1.25. 

"His  unique  stories  always  hit  the  mark.    But  '  The  Lady,  or  the  Tiger?'  was 
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THE  CHRISTMAS  WRECK 

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"  With  the  charm  ol  a  most  delicate  humor,  his  stories  become  irresistibly  at- 
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NOVELS  AND  SHORT  STORIES  BY  FRANK  R.  STOCKTON 

THE   BEEMAN   OF  ORN 

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ARDIS   CLAVERDEN 

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MR.  STOCKTON'S  BOOKS  FOR  THE  YOUNG 

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NOVELS  AND  SHORT  STORIES  BY  FRANK  R.  STOCKTON 


JN  UNIFORM  STYLE.     ILLUSTRATED  BY  A.  B.  FROST 

POMONA'S  TRAVELS 


A  Series  of  Letters  to  the  Mistress 
of  Rudder  Grange  from  her 
Former  Handmaiden.  Fully 
illustrated  by  A.  B.  FROST,  izmo, 

$2.00. 

"  It  forms  one  of  the  most  delightful 
books  Mr.  Stockton  has  ever  written.  It 
is  capital  reading,  and  will  more  firmly 
establish  Mr.  Stockton  in  his  place  with 
Bret  Harte  among  contemporary  Amer 
ican  writers.  Mr.  Frost's  pictures  arc  all 
admirable." — New  York  Times. 

"  It  will  DC  remembered  that  Pomona 
married  a  certain  Jonas,  a  young  man  of 
eccentric  ways  and  dry  humor.  They 
make  a  jouniev  abroad,  and  their  expe 
riences  are  as  enjoyable  as  those  of  the  days 
at  Rudder  Grange.  The  book  is  capitally 
illustrated."— Boston  Transcript. 


JOSH  AND  POMONA. 


RUDDER  GRANGE 

With  over  100  illustrations  by  A.  B.  FROST.      I2mo,  gilt  top,  $2.00. 

"  It  is  possible  that  there  are  readers  and  buyers  of  books  who  have  yet  to  make 
the  acquaintance  of  '  Rudder  Grange.'  If  so,  it  is  hard  to  tell  whether  tlx-v  .ire 
objects  of  pity  or  envy — pity  for  having  lost  so  much  enjoyment,  or  envy  for  the 
pleasure  that  is  still  in  store  for  them."— Philadelphia  Times. 

"  Mr.  Frost's  suggestive  illustrations  add  greatly  to  the  attractiveness  of  Mr. 
Stockton's  famous  story.  He  has  caught  the  spirit  of  the  book,  and  sketched  its 
leading  characters  and  scenes  with  rare  humor."— London  Literary  World. 


•»•  The  above  two 
books,  handsomely  bound 
in  uniform  style,  with 
special  cover  designs  by 
A.  B,  Frost,  gilt  top, 
Jimo,  in  a  box, 


RfDDKR  GRANGE. 


CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
153-157  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 


W  FACILITY 


DATE  DUE 


-  5  1969. 


OAVt-OKO 


' v 


A  A      000269749    8 


